The Mummy
by Kosaji
Summary: Arthur only wants to find a book, Alfred only wants to get rid of the debt he owes to the grouchy Brit and Gilbert just wants to go home. Too bad Fate has other plans. "I think it's time for us to run now" "You think?" The three of them ran from the cloud of locusts descending upon them. It was shaping up to be such a good day too. Based on the movie The Mummy -USUK Spamano GerIta
1. Death is only the beginning

**Disclaimer:****I do not own Hetalia, nor do I own The Mummy. Beta work by The Singing Maiden**** and Jazz E. Roisin.**

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The sun was setting on the beautiful city of Thebes in Ancient Egypt. The golden sun caused the stones making up the palace of Pharaoh Seti I to glow with an almost mystical light. A beautiful woman walked down the hallways of the palace, her pale skin a sharp contrast to her dark hair and eyes. The hem of her Chinese dress brushed lightly against the floor as she confidently walked towards her room guarded by heavy wooden doors. They were opened before her, pushed by a duo of men, a blond man, who was squinting slightly, and a tall lanky brunette with shoulder length hair.

Both men bowed to the woman as she walked passed them. Inside the room were two figures; a short teenager who was trembling as another man patted him firmly on the head. The man looked up and met the gaze of the Chinese woman. He was easily the tallest and the most well built in the room the thin robes he wore did nothing to hide the firm muscles along his chest and arms. He smiled, before aiming a look at the three men in the room. All of them immediately bowed and exited the chamber, leaving the man and woman alone.

The woman walked up to him, staring into him with her gentle gaze. "Ivan," she said, moving closer and trailing her hands right in front of his face as greeting.

Ivan smiled wider and returned the gesture, before moving to kiss the woman. "Chun-Yan," he said warmly, his hands framing her face, one thumb rubbing the side of her face with long strokes. He loved it when she called him by that name, not the name the Pharaoh gave him as his highest priest and adviser, Imhotep. Chun-Yan accepts him completely as what he was, regardless of status, and that made him so warm and happy.

Chun-Yan smiled at her lover, leaning into his touch. A sudden shout from the door startled the pair, breaking them apart. Chun-Yan ran across the room, exiting behind a sheer white curtain that led to the balcony with Ivan following behind. She made a shooing gesture at her lover, urging him to hide, before calming down and arranging herself next to a bronze cat statue, as if admiring it.

Before the three men outside the room, stood Pharaoh Seti I, his strong features were set into a frown. He recognized the three men were his trusted highest priest and adviser's underlings. He ordered them to open the doors, glowering when they hesitated to obey his commands. Once they were opened, he walked into the room, the lamps light catching on the golden jewellery adorning his neck and arms and the golden helm he wore. After they had closed the doors, Ivan's servants looked on in fear as the Pharaoh strode to the curtain, throwing it aside roughly, only to be greeted by the sight of Chun-Yan bent slightly over the cat statue, looking at it adoringly. The Pharaoh's face softened slightly as Chun-Yan stood up in surprise. He walked over to her, calmer now, but he soon stiffened in anger.

"Who touched you?" He demanded, looking at the smudged kohl around one of Chun-Yan's eyes. Surprised, she averted her eyes from him, but quickly glanced behind him in surprise. The Pharaoh turned around to see Ivan standing behind him, smiling eerily.

"Imhotep?" the Pharaoh questioned, his face turning red in apoplectic anger. "What is the meanin-" Seti cut himself off with a pained gasp.

Chun-Yan had thrust a dagger into his back. Both the Pharaoh and Ivan looked at her in surprise and horror. She stood trembling in front of them, watching her husband fall to the ground from the lethal wound, eyes widened in fear. Ivan looked at her before reaching to gather her in his arms. He held onto her tightly, murmuring assurances into her ear and gently kissing her face to try to calm her down. The doors rattled again, this time due to the arrival of the Medjai, the Pharaohs elite warriors, trying to gain entrance into the room. During this time, Ivan's underlings had reached their master and were pulling the couple towards the secret staircase in the shadows of an alcove. Ivan tried to drag Chun-Yan with him but she moved his arms aside.

"Go!" she hissed. "I have killed him and must face the consequences. You need to leave now!" Chun-Yan looked at her love one last time before whispering, "Resurrect me when this is done; then we can be together without the world stopping us."

She looked resolutely away from Ivan as his servants pulled him towards the hidden staircase. Ivan struggled against his servants, but there were too many and he was dragged away.

Just then the Medjai stormed past the curtain, swords drawn they were shocked at the body of their Pharaoh before the his mistress.

Chun-Yan looked at them defiantly and lifted her dagger. She tightened her trembling fingers around the hilt before stating to the Medjai, "My body shall no longer serve as his temple!" and driving the dagger through her heart.

Hidden in the shadows, Ivan looked on in grief as his lover fell to the floor, her black hair spilling around her body and mixing with the blood spreading around her. The men who held his arms tugged once more, and Ivan turned to leave before the Medjai discovered them, a silent promise to get his lover back burning in his violet eyes.

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Ivan stormed over to the shelves in his private library, his silent rage manifesting itself into a cold aura that was typical of the Russian winters from where he was born. Behind him his priests were huddled together, trembling in fear. Ivan pulled a scroll from the shelves and unfurled it with a snap. He scanned the its contents quickly, before letting a grin grace his face; he found the ritual. However, when he realized that bringing Chun-Yan back to life would be more difficult than he planned, the grin quickly turned into an annoyed frown.

"Imhotep!" a voice called out.

Ivan's priests jumped in surprise as a man made his way through the doors they were standing in front of, a slim female brunette following behind.

Ivan frowned, not bothering to turn to them. "Do not call me by that name, Naeem".

The man called Naeem frowned. "You should honor the name given to you by the Pharaoh, Ivan".

"The same Pharaoh who is dead at the moment, Naeem? No, I shall go by my birth name," Ivan paused. "Aren't you going to ask me about that? Or about how they say that Chun-Yan killed him?"

"Did she kill him?" the slim brunette interrupted, golden brown eyes rimmed in red.

Ivan turned to face the pair fully, before smiling gently.

"Little Princess Nefertiti, how nice of you to join us," Ivan said, bowing slightly. Despite her Father, Ivan had a soft spot for the eldest Egyptian princess. Looking closely at her, his intuition flashed and his smile darkened a little before asking, "You wouldn't happen to know what brought the Medjai up into Chun-Yan's room, would you?" if anything, Ivan's smile grew darker as the princess guiltily looked away. "I see."

"It wasn't like that!" Nefertiti burst out. "I just saw someone got stabbed and thought it was Chun-Yan!" Tears welled up in her eyes again, before she hastily wiped them away.

Naeem wrapped an arm around the girl, pulling her close before giving Ivan a warning glare. Ivan glared back, but backed down.

"What are you going to do now?" Naeem questioned, his gaze locked onto the scroll in Ivan's hand.

"I am going to bring her back," Ivan answered simply.

"That is against our ways."

"So be it."

Naeem turned away, silent for a second. "Go now," he sighed, "the Medjai will be looking for you to perform the sacred rites for the Pharaoh."

Ivan looked hard at his fellow priest, and nodded. He turned to his underlings and ordered them to prepare for the journey.

"Ivan, wait!"

Ivan looked back at the princess impatiently. Nefertiti broke away from Naeem's embrace and walked over to the imposing ash blond male. She reached into the side of her satchel and pulled out a hexagonal box.

"Take it," she said as she placed it into his hand. "It will help you."

Ivan looked at the princess in shock, recognizing the item she was giving him as a sacred key to unlock holy, yet sacrilegious items. Princess Nefertiti held his gaze.

"Tell her I am sorry. So, so sorry," she whispered, haunting gold eyes staring deep into Ivan's being.

Ivan just stood there, staring back before gathering himself and nodded solemnly. With a final bow to the couple, he turned away, replacing the scroll in its resting place. With the key now in his hand, he could now open the Book of the Dead and not need the lengthier and more dangerous method to resurrect his beloved.

Naeem and Nefertiti quietly left Ivan's apartments, hurrying back to the main palace quarters to intercept the Medjai. The two did not want their friend to be found before he could escape.

"Are you sure about giving him the key?" Naeem asked softly.

The Princess nodded. "It is the quickest way to bring her back. Security at Hamunaptra will be lower around Ivan since they expect him to perform the rites for my Father. It should give both him and Chun-Yan time to escape."

Naeem observed the Princess. "The two of you grew up together, did you not?" He asked casually.

"Yes," she whispered. "She was like the mother and sister I never had. I was so grateful to Father for saving her and bringing her home all those years ago."

"About your Father..."

Nefertiti glared at Naeem. "Even though I am helping my sister, I love my Father very much, Naeem".

Naeem hummed in agreement, smiling before reaching out and take her hand.

"You think too much, my dear. I am not judging you; after all, I am helping Ivan too, am I not?" Naeem asked gently, dark eyes looking down at hers gently.

Nefertiti blushed, before tightening her grip on his hand. "Come, we must go see to Father's burial," she stated strongly, flushing further as the soft sounds of Naeem's amused laughter reached her ear. Once they were outside, Nefertiti looked up at the bright, heavenly moon. 'Sister, I hope you find happiness'.

Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as they had hoped. Ivan was caught just before he could finish the ritual. Chun-Yan's soul returned to the dark underground pool Ivan summoned it from. The Medjai secretly brought him back to Thebes, where he was judged guilty and sentenced to the Hom-Dai, the severest and most feared punishment in Egypt. His priests were sentenced to being mummified alive.

Ivan shook with fear as he was held down onto his knees, the screams of pain from his loyal priests filled his ears. As the one of the Medjai came towards him with a hot knife in hand, he tried to escape, however the Medjai's hold was unwavering and Ivan heard something inside him break. He looked on as they pried open his jaw and held out his tongue with a tong, the very tip of it visible in his sight. He looked away from the grisly scene, only to see one of his priests being shoved into a sarcophagus, fully mummified alive. He felt regret in his heart for the loyal men that served him and didn't even feel the sharp burn of the metal cutting through his fleshy, wet tongue.

Before he knew it next thing he knew was that he was looking at his own agonizingly in pain face. He saw himself wither under the excruciating pain as if he was looking through the eyes of another. Soon he saw his body was being wrapped up in bandages by the Medjai. He walked over and looked into his own eyes. It was a curious yet confusing thing, he could see the madness in the gaze of his living counterpart, though he did not feel the same. Ivan stood by silently as his body was wrapped and placed in its sarcophagus, and watched as a pot full of scarabs was tipped into it. The scarabs scuttled over his body, ominously chattering as they tried to find a way to burrow into his flesh. He stayed until they closed the lid of the sarcophagus and locked it with the same key Princess Nefertiti gave him, completing the ritual. Suddenly, Ivan felt a slim hand on his shoulder. He turned back to see Chun-Yan smiling softly at him. She was wearing a white dress, looking happily at Ivan. Ivan smiled back and took her hand. Though part of his soul remained trapped by the ritual in the sarcophagus, the rest was free to go. The two of them disappeared into the underworld in peace, never taking their eyes off of each other.

The Medjai buried Imhotep and his priests at Hamunaptra, and have kept watch over it for centuries, making sure he would never be discovered. For if he should be disturbed, he would awaken as an unstoppable flesh eater, with the power of a god, and the glory of invincibility.

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**A/N: Hello, new writer here! I'm writing this for Campnanowrimo, so it should be mostly done by September. I will be updating weekly starting August 31st, so let me know if you guys like this or not. R & R please!**

**~Kosaji**


	2. Starting Over

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mummy, nor do I own Hetalia, they are on loan. **

**I'm back~ I couldn't stick to my "start updating in September" plan. I was way too impatient! So, here you guys go!**

**P.S-While the plot will be basically the same, there will be differences in some scenes, d****ialogue****, etc. for those who are familiar with the movie The Mummy.**

**Warnings-Gore (not a lot), swearing, genderbent characters ****(aka Nyotalia inserts)****, yaoi...If there are more, I'll add it to this list, as I go. ****And beware of The Singing Maiden's very descriptive scenes on gores as she is this fanfic's beta reader. **

**Enjoy!**

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_Hamunaptra 2005_

Lieutenant Alfred F. Jones of the French Foreign Legion looked over the low stone facade at the charging bandits, and grimaced. Things were not going good for his squadron after they caught whispers of the location of Hamunaptra. They had trekked from Libya into Egypt for this place and all they found was sand. They did not have the tools necessary to explore the ruin, either. Then, when it seemed things couldn't get any worse, they heard from their look out that bandits were converging on the site. Alfred pushed up his glasses, blue eyes squinting behind them from the sun. He held his rifle at ready before looking to his right when he heard a sharp clang. The squadron leader had thrown down his sword and kicked at his horse, galloping away from the bandits. Alfred exchanged glances with Beni, a smaller, dark haired dark eyed Hungarian man who had also seen their captain running away. Beni turned to him and shrugged.

"You just got promoted."

Alfred snorted both in disgust at the captain's actions and amusement at Beni's comment. Currently, he was the highest ranking officer present, and gave the order to ready the men.

"Steady!" He shouted before turning to Beni, "You're with me on this one, right?"

"Oh, your strength gives me strength," Beni replied. As they looked on at the approaching line of bandits, each armed and on horseback, Beni paused and shook his head before running back into the city ruins. Alfred watched him run in disbelief before turning back to the bandits.

"Steady!" He cried at the line grew closer. The headdress he wore to protect him from the harsh Egyptian sun was making his blond hair clump together uncomfortably.

"Steady!" honestly what did people expect when they joined the military? Alfred couldn't understand why his fellow men deserted them. Well, looking at the armed men charging towards them, he could understand their fear, but he joined the military to be a Hero, and no band of bandits was going to stop the twenty two year old American.

"Fire!"

Shots fired across the sand towards the bandits. Alfred quickly reloaded and shot at the bandits again while backing up. The squadron took out several men from the front lines, but there were more appearing to replace them. Alfred started to retreat slowly; he knew they were hopelessly out numbered. He and the rest of the squadron ran back into the ruins as the bandits reached the parapet, many jumping over the small line of stone with their horses. He pulled out two of the three pistols he had on him, shooting incoming bandits down as he ran backwards, before throwing them at the enemy when they ran out of bullets. The pistols each hit a man, knocking him off their horses. Soldiers were falling around him, with the deafening sounds of gunshots ringing in his ears as Alfred ran deeper into the ruins. He saw Beni running to a small stone building he was heading to.

"Run, Beni!" Alfred called out, running to the shelter as well. He was puzzled when he saw Beni grinning at him while attempting to push a stone door shut.

'Is he-?' Alfred's temper roused itself as he shouted, "Don't you close that door, Beni! Don't you close that door!"

It was too late; Beni had managed to close the door right as Alfred slammed into it. Alfred turned around to see more groups of bandits following him. He looked around and ran to the right as fast as he could. He ducked as he heard a shot being fired behind him, barely missing the bullet. He ducked behind a pillar and shot at the bandit with his last pistol. It hit its mark and the man fell from his horse. Alfred didn't stay to watch, he was already running down the stairs, stumbling from the sand covering it, before throwing himself over a fallen pillar several yards away. He landed hard on the sand, losing his pistol in the process, but quickly pushed himself up. He reached for his fallen pistol but pulled his arms back as several bandits rode up and shot at him, just missing by the hair. Alfred ran away from them, but skidded to a stop when he saw another group riding up in front of him. Cursing, he ran left, deeper into the ruins, passing by pillars and walls. He saw a pistol abandoned on the ground and picked it up as he ran, ducking behind a wall to shoot at the bandits. Out of the four shots he fired, only two bandits were shot, which was good enough for Alfred. The shots made the rest of the bandits stop for several seconds, which bought Alfred precious time to run away. He kept running, dodging more incoming bullets and trying to see through all the sand being kicked up in the air. Alfred ran to a pillar on the outskirts of the ruins and stopped just before it in defeat. There was nowhere to run to and he knew it. He turned around to see the bandits riding up to him, grinning in victory,. Alfred grimaced and prepared himself to be shot. But when the expected pain didn't come, Alfred opened an eye to see the bandits were quaking in fear, before running away quickly. Alfred blinked in confusion and but sighed in relief.

"That was a close one,", he said to himself,. "Wonder what was up with the- whoa!"

Alfred backed away from the pillar. O once the dust settled, he could see that the pillar it was not actually a pillar but a statue of a man with the head of a jackal. Alfred adjusted his glasses, looking closer at the statue. Like the rest of the ruins, it was old, but amazingly huge. The top head was two feet above Alfred, who was already pretty tall at 5 feet 10 inches. It was probably even taller, judging from the fact that only the head and the upper part of the torso showed above ground; it probably continued down several feet, if not yards. Alfred was startled when the sands below his feet shifted. He yelped and jumped back as they rose up in waves and hit him, making him stumble backward as he was buffeted by sand from all directions, throwing him around until he ran back into the ruins. Alfred shivered as he heard an angry moan rumble through the ground. If the young American had looked behind him at that moment, he would have seen the sand shaped itself to resemble the face of a man in great agony. The chilling site disappeared in three minutes, the sand dispersing, leaving no sign that the face ever formed.

Alfred staggered away, slowing down as he felt someone was staring at him. He stood still, looking slowly over his shoulder. When he didn't see anyone, he raised his gaze higher. On top of the cliffs overlooking Hamunaptra, there were at least ten men sitting on horseback, all wearing black robes and looking down at the ruins intently. Even though he was thoroughly crept out by them, Alfred still stared at them, running off to the camp they made before they found Hamunaptra that morning

'Scary...' Alfred thought, his throat parched for water and his muscles tired and aching once the adrenaline wore off.

On the cliffs, one of the men noted sombrely, "The Creature remains undiscovered.".

Another man amongst them looked to the young man sitting on the black horse in the middle of the line and asked, "What about that one? Do we kill him?"

The man in the middle regarded the blond running into the desert, before shaking his head.

"Leave him; the desert will take care of it for us".

The rest of the men nodded in acceptance before riding away, letting the rest of their order know that they could return back to their homes, until they were called again.

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_London__, 2005_

"Get me another..." mumbled one young man, his green eyes dull, even his bright blond hair seemed gloomier.

The bartender gave the young man an exasperated look before pouring him a glass of water instead of the whiskey he asked for. Arthur only had two glasses, but if he was in this state already, it was best not to give him any more alcohol.

"What's with ya this time, Arthur?" He asked, leaning on his elbows. He rolled his eyes when a mumble came from the drunk blond. He was used to Arthur's drunken manners but looked at him in concern when tears started falling from his eyes.

"Arthur?" He asked hesitantly, reaching a hand out towards the man.

"They abandoned me!" came the disheartened sob; Arthur burying his face in his crossed arms. The bartender motioned for Riley to take his place before walking out of the bar to sit next to the English gent. It was a slow night and besides, he owned the place anyway.

Arthur was still crying, sobbing in a way that had the bartender worry about his breathing.

"Come on, Arthur, it can't be that bad…could it?" he winced at the question. If whatever happened got Arthur full out crying instead of ranting with a few tears that he insists was just dirt in his eyes, then it was bad.

Arthur sniffed and looked up at him, bright green eyes shimmering and lined with red. "My family disowned me Jack."

Jack's green eyes, similar in shade to Arthur's, widened in shock.

"Say what? Mate, aren't ya like the golden child of the family? What did you get disowned for?"

By now Riley, his co-owner, bartender and younger brother, was listening in quietly. Jack rubbed the back of his head, looking awkwardly at one of his favorite patrons. Arthur had been a regular visitor since he came of age, and despite the rants he had a tendency of going into when he got drunk, he really wasn't a bad person. A little surly, defensive and grouchy, true, but overall a great person.

'He's also a hoot whenever he gets pissed,' Jack thought wryly.

"I'm gay."

"Okay," Jack said not really surprised. He knew of Arthur's sexual orientation ever since he caught him staring at his arse several years ago. "I take it your folks weren't too happy about that, huh?"

A sharp glare, still scary despite the tears clouding them, gave Jack the answer.

"So you got no place to go?" Riley asked, leaning over the bar and petting Arthur's head gently. Arthur nodded miserably, leaning into the soothing touch.

Jack frowned, before pulling out his phone and stared at it contemplatively. One more look at Arthur, who was like a kicked puppy out in the rain, and Jack flipped open his phone and searched through his contacts for the one to call. The second he placed the device by his ear, he brightened as he heard the phone picked up and a German voice filtered through the background noise.

"Hallo?"

"Gilbert! How ya doing, mate?" Jack asked cheerfully, walking away from the melancholy Brit, his brother got Arthur well in hand. "Say, you still in London…Uh-huh, and you still need that translator? Perfect!" he paused, his grin widening. "Naw, it's not a girl, but I think you'll like him. Look, just come on over to the bar and we can talk about it here, whaddaya think? Right, see ya, mate!" he hung up and put his phone back into his pants pocket. He spun on his heel towards his friend and brother, whistling a jaunty tune.

Arthur and Riley looked up at him questioningly. The Kiwi managed to get Arthur to stop crying and drink the cup of tea he brewed.

"Good news, mate! I found ya a roommate!"

"Pardon?" Arthur asked, looking at the Australian as if he was crazy.

"Yeah, I know a guy who needs a translator for ancient languages, because the museum won't take the rare book he found without it being translated…

"And the museum will charge the guy for doing the translation themselves, right?" Arthur sipped his tea. "They have a tendency to do that. What was your friend's name?"

"Oh, his name's Gilbert, Gilbert Beilschmidt. He's a good bloke, and-",

Here Jack was cut off by the slam of the front door hitting the wall and an unpleasantly loud voice. "The AWESOME me has arrived!" shouted a man dressed in a navy blue button down shirt and brown dress pants at the door way. His red eyes, highlighted by his pale face and almost silvery white hair, strutted to the bar at the back before settling with the trio. He sauntered in, oozing confidence and wearing an obnoxious grin.

"So, Jackie, what did ya call me here for?" he asked, pulling over a stool and sat next to Arthur.

Jack laughed, patting the new arrival on the shoulder. "Gilbert, this is Arthur. Arthur, Gilbert," he introduced the two men, who eyed each other up.

"So, Jack says you can translate my book for me?" Gilbert looked at Arthur expectantly.

Arthur raised a thick eyebrow. "What language is it in?"

Gilbert grinned at him daringly, offering up a small backpack for the Brit to see. "I don't really know, I found it at a castle in Romania and I thought it looked awesome," The man smirked.

"Let me see," Arthur demanded, taking the backpack out of the albino's hands. Apparently, Jack noticed that he somehow managed to sober up. A look at the glass next to Arthur showed that it was holding the remnants of a red drink, which answered the Australian's question about Arthur's sobriety. Riley knew how to make a great hangover cure; the one he gave Arthur actually managed to help clear out the alcohol in his system in a snap, it helped that Arthur was a lightweight and only had two glasses.

Arthur opened it and lifted the wrapped up book out gentle. With equal tenderness, he unravelled the book before gently turning the pages with a pair of tweezers he took out from his portable sewing kit. While he slowly got engrossed into reading it, Riley and Jack went back to tending the bar. Apart from a few stragglers, Arthur and Gilbert were the only ones there. Gilbert was nursing a beer as he talked to Jack about his travels through Europe.

After about an hour of examining the book, Arthur finally closed shut it on his lap, grabbing the bartenders' and albino's attention. "Well," the Brit began, "what you have here, my friend, is a diary." He tapped the cover of the book gently with his fingers. "To be precise, it is a diary from a young man during the exodus of the Crimean Tatars to the Ottoman Empire."

"How do you know that?"

Arthur looked up at Gilbert's amazed face as he began to explain. " The lettering is Arabic, but the language is actually Chagatai, which was spoken in Turkey. Eventually the alphabets were replaced by different languages, so it might not have been obvious it was from that area. A lot of Tatars migrated to the Ottoman Empire and many of them did settle in Bulgaria and Romania, which is where you said you found the book, correct?" He watched Gilbert mouth beginning to stretch into a grin.

"Can you translate it?" he asked impatiently, his German accent slipping in as he grew excited.

Arthur nodded slowly.

"Awesome! Looks like there is more to you than your eyebrows, Blondie!" Gilbert crowed. Arthur huffed at him, and ranted about how his eyebrows weren't that big. Gilbert laughed before looking back at Arthur contemplatively. "So, what do you want for payment?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, well…" Arthur fumbled; it was the first time someone offered to pay him for doing his hobby. The work he did at the local bookshop didn't really count because all he did was translate books from other more modern languages into whatever language was necessary.

"He needs a place to stay," Jack cut in, earning him a surprised look from both men.

"Vhat?" Gilbert asked, confused about the situation.

"You've been saying that Elizaveta and Roderich were looking for someone who could translate the books they have, right? Arthur here knows pretty much every language in the world, and any he doesn't know he picks up quickly." Jack ignored the glare Arthur was levelling at him, it was for the bloke's own good.

Gilbert levelled Arthur a look. "Is he serious?"

Arthur blushed darkly. "Well, not every language on Earth, but I do know quite a few fluently."

"Huh, so why do ya need a place to stay?" Gilbert asked, leaning an elbow against the bar.

Arthur face darkened, both from shyness and a bit of anger. "My parents kicked me out," He said after a the pause. "I'm staying at a hotel right now."

"Wait, you're already staying at a hotel? When did they kick you out?" Jack angrily asked.

Arthur looked at Jack and the equally indignant Riley in surprise. "Ah, well, I was told to get out about six hours ago, so I packed my stuff and luckily managed to find a hotel." He was startled by the increasingly angry expressions on his friends' faces and hurriedly added in, "It's not that bad, I was going to go back and pick up the rest of my stuff tomorrow. Hopefully it is still there…" the last part was barely a whisper, but Gilbert still caught it.

He narrowed his eyes at the Briton,. "Why did they kick ya out, anyway?"

Jack was about to defend Arthur, but the emerald eyed blond stopped him. "They did not like my sexual preferences," he stated primly, his eyes daring the German man to say anything.

"That's all?" he asked. "Well, as long as you don't get into shit with the police or mafia I don't give a crap about what you do." Gilbert finished his drink and put the money on the bar.

"How do ya feel about Austria, Eyebrows?" Gilbert grinned at Arthur's indignation over his nickname. "Should I call ya Artie, then?" he queried semi-innocently, laughing at the incensed man.

"No, you will absolutely not call me that! My name is Arthur!"

"Yeah, yeah, I don't really care, so what about Austria?" Gilbert demanded impatiently.

Arthur paused, a moment in thought. "I do have a passport and some money, so I can get myself there if need be."

"Great!" Gilbert whopped loudly, falling back against his chair with a smug grin. "We'll leave in a day or two so get your stuff ready. Roderich knows some people who would like their stuff translated too, especially those weird languages nobody speaks anymore." He grinned when he saw Arthur's eyes light up at the mention of rare languages. "You translate the things we need, and Roddy can give ya a room until you can get a job and a place of your own."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, not wanting to believe that the answer to his troubles could be found so easily.

"Yeah, sure, Roddy and Eliza have plenty of room. I live there too, so I know," Gilbert held out a hand out to Arthur. "So, whaddaya say, we got a deal?"

Arthur grinned and shook Gilbert's hand. "Yes, I believe we do Mr. Beilschmidt."

"Call me Gilbert; Mr. Beilschmidt makes me feel old and un-awesome."

Yes, Arthur did believe that the future couldn't look any brighter.

If only he knew what awaited him in several years' time.

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**R & R please! More reviews makes me happy and much more motivated to write more!**

**~Kosaji**


	3. A Map and An American

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mummy or Hetalia.**  
**So, to clarify on the French Foreign Legion, one reviewer brought to my attention. The French Foreign Legion is part of the French military, yes, but it is the only one where a wide variety of nationalities apart from French can enlist. It was also the army present in the actual movie. I kept it in part to stay true to canon, but also give credence to Alfred's contacts all of whom will be of different nationalities. Thank you to my Beta Jazz E. Roisin for helping me with this chapter.**

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_Three Years Later, Italy_  
"Let's see, Socrates, you go here, and you..." Arthur Kirkland murmured to himself, balancing himself on a ladder, replacing the books he finished cataloging into their proper places.

"Oi, bastard!" called a feminine voice from the front of the room.

Arthur sighed, and began climbing down the ladder. "I'm in the back, Lovina!"

Loud footsteps echoed through the empty storeroom as Lovina stomped in, long dark hair pulled back by a hair band and hazel eyes flashing.

"The potato bastard is here," she growled propping thin arms on her hips.

Arthur paused, leaning against a bookshelf, "And this is a problem why? I thought the two of you got along better these days?" Arthur questioned lightly.

"If that bastard didn't show up at work and called me his girlfriend, maybe," Lovina scoffed. She turned red when Arthur started to laugh at her.

Lovina pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not that funny!" she whined, making Arthur laugh even harder.

He managed to calm himself down. "Besides, he has something he wants you to see."

"Really?" Arthur asked, tilting his head curiously. "Is that all you came here for?" he asked expectantly, smiling when Lovina huffed again.

"What do you want for dinner?"

Arthur smiled. "Can we have your pizza? I've been craving some all day."

Lovina rolled her eyes, secretly happy, "What are you, a woman? Having cravings of all things...", she muttered, going out to the front of the store, waiting for Arthur so they could go back to the apartment they shared like she did every weekday.

Arthur smiled at Lovina's back. When Gilbert brought her to Roderich and Elizaveta's house, the two of them did not get along well. Lovina was painfully shy and closed off and she and Arthur were both equally socially awkward. It took time and a surprising amount of shared interests got them to become friends.

* * *

_"Oi, what are you doing, you stupid limey?" Lovina shouted from the kitchen doorway._

_Arthur jumped in surprise, holding a tray of blackened lumps._

_"Ah, well..." Arthur trailed off looking embarrassed by his creation. "I didn't mean for it to become so burnt?" he offered weakly._

_"Hmph! Burnt doesn't even cover what you did to these things! If you can't cook then stay away from the kitchen!"_

_Arthur's face fell, looking down at the scones he attempted to make. He didn't remember the recipe his mother used to make her scones, but he tried as hard as he could. Lovina looked at Arthur's face guiltily before mumbling something._

_"Pardon?" Arthur asked, looking at her._

_"I said", Lovina glared, a deep blush covering her face, "I can help you make whatever it is again!"_

_Arthur looked at the surly eighteen year old in surprise, before smiling in excitement._

_"Really? You think I can actually cook something?" he asked eagerly._

_Lovina scoffed, "Please, even with me as your instructor, it'll take a while for you to come even close to making a good dish."_

_Arthur's frowned sadly, "Oh", he said._

_Lovina took pity on the Brit. "Well, let's get to work." she said, rolling up her sleeves. "What were you trying to make, bastard?"_

* * *

Arthur finished packing up slinging his light blue jacket over one shoulder and holding his briefcase with his other hand; he walked to the front the bookstore. Lovina looked up from her book as he came in. She replaced the book and walked over her floral skirt dancing around her legs with every twitch of her hips.

"Shall we?" Arthur asked holding the door open for her. Lovina snorted, used to Arthur's manners and walked outside to where they parked their car. It was a nice day; a gentle breeze ruffled the couple's hair, dancing among the leaves of the trees and through the buildings. Arthur got in the passenger seat placing his briefcase on the floor and his jacket on his lap before seat belting himself securely. Lovina was already in her seat and starting the car with a smirk.

"Ready?" she called pulling the car out of the tightly packed parking lot slowly before accelerating once she was out of the way.

Arthur smirked back as he was thrown back into his seat. Although he always advocated safe driving, driving with Lovina (and sometimes Gilbert), always gave him an exhilarating thrill. Mainly because the two loved going fast and somehow managed to evade the police every time. Arthur relaxed, leaning his arm on the door, looking out at the passing scenery with mild interest. The two stayed in companionable silence for the rest of the car ride, and looking forward to relaxing at home after a long day at work.

Lovina pulled into the parking lot, driving up to their designated parking spot. Parking the car deftly, she turned off the car and got out, Arthur following just behind her. The two of them walked down the stairs to their apartment, which was located on the basement level. They made idle conversation about their day. Lovina worked as a waitress at a nearby restaurant, while Arthur worked as a bookkeeper, he still did some translating work on the side. He was famous in the city for being the person to go to if there were items that needed translating.

Arthur unlocked the door, holding it open for Lovina to step through before entering and closing the door behind him.

"Well isn't this a sweet sight!" an annoyingly familiar voice drawled. Arthur looked to the right, where he saw the figure of Gilbert Beilschmidt sprawled over his floral print sofa.

Arthur sighed, "I'll go make tea." he murmured to Lovina, who nodded and headed to her room, intent on escaping the headache know as Gilbert.

"Oi! No entertainment? What kind of hosts are you?" Gilbert grinned as Lovina flipped him off, swearing at him under her breath as she entered her room.

"So, what are you here for Gilbert?" Arthur asked, carrying a tray with three teacups and a plate of cookies and cakes. Gilbert looked at the food in surprise and relief.

"I take it Lovina agreed to cook for you?" Gilbert said, lifting a piece of cake onto his plate and biting into it with relish.

"Actually, I made that." Arthur smiled, pouring himself a cup of tea.

Gilbert froze, looking at Arthur in shock, eyes going from him to the cake he had started eating and back.

"Mein Gott, I actually ate this!" Gilbert cried out, jumping up. He paused, "Wait, I ate Eyebrow's cooking and I'm still alive?", he questioned softly to himself, but Arthur and Lovina, who had changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and a white tee shirt heard him.

"Two years living with me, and you didn't think my Italian skills would rub off on him?" Lovina drawled, settling herself on the chair to the left of Arthur. She accepted her cup with a small nod of thanks, "I taught him how to bake, isn't he getting better? Such a good boy!" Lovina cooed at Arthur, eyes glinting wickedly at the shade of red Arthur was turning.

Arthur sputtered at his two friends. "Now, see here! My cooking was not poison!" he directed a glare at Gilbert, who snorted disbelievingly, "And I'm not a bloody pet!", now he turned to Lovina, who ignored him, already used to his glares and righteous indignation.

"Anyway, why are you in Italy, Gilbert?" Arthur asked, turning back to their guest.

Gilbert smirked and reached into the inside pocket of his sports jacket and pulled out a hexagonal box. He tossed it at Arthur, who managed to catch it, despite his surprise at the weight of the box. It was made out of metal, yet it wasn't substantially heavy, like one would expect. Arthur ran his fingers over the box lightly, feeling the small dents and rough areas that accumulated on it through time.

Arthur frowned, this box seemed familiar, but he had never seen it before in his life. Turning it, Arthur's fingers pressed down on the sides of the box, fingers close to the top. The box snapped open, forming a shape like the sun, with sharp looking arms reaching away from the center. Arthur heard Lovina gasp as he lifted a folded piece of parchment from the box. Arthur shivered before brushing the feeling off as he unraveled it, revealing a map. He looked up to see Lovina and Gilbert looking back at him curiously.

"Gilbert, I think you found something."

* * *

"See, that cartouche over there is the seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it!" Arthur exclaimed, pointing to the symbol on the map over the curator's shoulder. "I'm sure that this symbol here on the map is for Hamunaptra." Arthur grinned, walking energetically to the front of the curator's desk.

When Arthur realized what the map was, he rushed over to the museum. Gilbert refused to enter the museum, saying that he was too awesome to be in an old place like this, but Arthur was used to his quirks and said nothing of it. Instead, Lovina invited herself to the museum along with Arthur. Arthur was grateful for her support and patience with him as he began chattering about the history of Seti I and Hamunaptra all through the drive to the museum. Lovina eventually just stuffed his face with one of the tomatoes she carried with her.

"This seems very interesting Arthur." the curator said, stroking the short gray hairs of his beard contemplatively. He bent over the map to take a closer look, but accidentally knocked over a cup of hot coffee, which spilled all over his desk and across the map.

"No!", Arthur cried out, picking up the paper and attempting to dry it off before the hot liquid could disintegrate the entire thing. "No, no! The most important part is gone!"

Arthur looked at the damp map, which was beginning to break apart in his hands dolefully.

"Move, idiota!" Lovina cried, taking a piece of paper out of her bag and putting the map on it. Arthur snapped out of it and began mopping the map up with a handkerchief. When the two were done, most of the right side intact, but there were pieces of the left side that had already disintegrated. Luckily, thanks to Lovina's quick thinking most of the ink was still on the paper, and not smudged beyond repair.

"It's for the best, I suppose", the curator said, looking at the pair in front of him. "Hamunaptra is a myth, told for the amusement of tourists. It is a fool's errand. Many men have tried to find that city, Mr. Kirkland, and they all failed. I advise you to leave it alone."

The curator folded his hands under his chin, "Now, that box you have in your possession", the curator began to talk, dark eyes fixated on the aforementioned item lying innocently on the desk. "I would be interested in buying it for the museum. I'm willing to pay 700 euros for it."

Arthur looked at the curator in surprise, but Lovina narrowed her eyes at him. With a sideways glance at Arthur, Lovina shook her head. Arthur looked back at the curator.

"I'm sorry, but that is not for sale." Arthur reached over and picked up the box. "Thank you for your time Mr. Bay," Arthur said, putting the box into Lovina's bag with the map pressed between the pages of one of Lovina's textbooks. Arthur placed a hand gently on the small of her back, leading her out of the large office and out the museum.

"He's lying." Lovina said, reaching into her coat pocket for another tomato.

"Yes, I figured that when you started glaring at him like he stole your last tomato." Arthur sighed, tipping his head back to look at the evening sky.

"Oi potato-bastard, we're leaving!" Lovina called out to Gilbert, who was flirting with a few young women by a coffee shop.

Gilbert gave the ladies one more wink before walking up to Lovina's car, where the two were already seated and waiting.

"A bust, then?" Gilbert asked, getting in the back.

"Yes and no," Arthur said, pulling out the metal box. "The curator spilled some coffee over the map, the part with Hamunaptra on it." Arthur said glumly. "He wanted the box, though, so I think it might be important somehow."

"Hmm", Gilbert leaned back against the seat, looking at Arthur contemplatively. "Say Artie."

"It's Arthur, git."

Gilbert waved dismissively, "Anyway, how badly do you want to find this city?"

Arthur looked back at Gilbert contemplatively, "Well, if the map was real, then it would be a great historical find, not to mention the things we could learn about history from it."

"That badly, huh?" Gilbert said.

Arthur blushed, sputtering before nodding sheepishly.

Gilbert grinned, "Well, it's your lucky day! I got the box from this guy at the pub in Cairo."

"What do you mean got? Gilbert, did you steal this box?" Arthur demanded.

Gilbert narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Fine, I stole it, but the guy was asking for it with what he was doing that night! Anyway, he should still be in Cairo, and if he had the box..."

"Then he might know where Hamunaptra is! Gilbert, you're a genius!" Arthur grinned, practically bouncing in his seat.

"Some genius," Lovina murmured. "Oi! Who is this guy anyway?" she called to Gilbert, looking at him through the rear view mirror.

"Hmm? Oh, just some American. I think his name was Albert? Alex? Oh, wait it was Jones. Alfred Jones", Gilbert said, thinking back to the great night at the bar.

"Alfred Jones, huh?" Arthur said under his breath, looking out at the lights passing by. 'Well, it should be interesting, at the very least', Arthur thought, leaning his head against the glass, anxious to get home.

* * *

_At Some Prison in Cairo:_

"Oi Jones! What are you doing!" shouted a prison guard.

A tall man with wild, dirty blond hair and the beginnings of a beard sat in his cell, bouncing a tennis ball against the wall, creating a repetitive thump.

The man flipped the soldier off, making his face burn in anger before he stomped away, hurling an explicative at the prisoner as he went.

The prisoner snorted bemused, eyes as blue as the afternoon sky dragging slowly back to the ball he continued to throw. This was routine by now. He would be kept here until it was time for his punishment for the night he had just a couple of days ago, the night he got robbed and was stuck in this prison because he had no identification except for his dog tags bearing the name Alfred F. Jones and his identification number. The man had given up hope for a rescue, simply resigned to his fate, but his anger burned brightly with the injustice done to him. Quite frankly, he was disgusted with the world at the moment, and though he did not want to die, he wouldn't really mind leaving such a dirty and moral-less world behind.

He looked out the small barred window to the night sky, beautifully filled with stars. He smiled lazily when he saw a shooting star pass by. Before the sight of those would have filled him with excitement, but now, he just looked quietly and somberly.

'It'll take more than a wish to get me out of this.' The man thought before snorting to himself. Who was he kidding? A wish? He would need a miracle to get out of this mess. He knew his sentencing was coming up in three days, and he knew what his verdict would probably be.

'Hanging. Of all the stupid and painful ways to die, these people still choose to hang criminals.' Alfred thought darkly, before sighing with annoyance and anxiousness.

Where was a miracle when you needed one?

* * *

**So we finally see Alfred! Anyways, I have a poll up about the next story I plan to write, please visit it to give me some feedback! Until next week,**  
**~Kosaji**


	4. Of Dresses and Kisses

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mummy or Hetalia.**

* * *

"I can't believe you are making me do this, Gilbert!" Arthur hissed at the albino, shifting the wig on his head.

"Kesesese. You shouldn't have made that bet, Artie!" Gilbert snickered in glee his laughs echoed by Lovina, who was zipping up the back of Arthur's dress.

"It's your own fault for getting drunk before leaving, bastard" Lovina said. She walked around to see Arthur from the front. "You don't look bad, but I need to put some makeup on you" she said, chin in hand, looking at him contemplatively.

Arthur winced when Gilbert laughed at him. Why, oh why, did he bet that he could out drink the self-proclaimed Prussian? That man practically lived off of beer! He blamed the excitement of finding a clue to Hamunaptra. Arthur looked at Lovina with dread as she came towards him wielding a brush. Lovina smirked at Arthur's expression before deftly applying the foundation.

"So the guy is at a prison?" Lovina asked applying pink blush lightly over Arthur's cheeks and forehead.

"Yeah, apparently he had a fun night after I left him," Gilbert said leaning against the doorway. Arthur and Lovina had taken some time off work to come to Cairo, though Lovina had to head back to Italy in a couple of days due to the nursing classes she was taking.

"You mean after you left the poor man in the bar without his wallet," Arthur said snidely. He quieted when Lovina glared, obediently keeping his mouth open so she could apply lipstick.

"Kesesese, if he can't keep his wallet safe then he deserved to be stolen from," Gilbert said airily

"What's with the outfit, anyway?" Lovina asked. She raised her eyebrow questioningly indicating Gilbert's white jacket and pants over a blood red shirt and black tie. He also wore black Italian leather shoes

"If Artie's gonna be dressed up I figured why not join the party."

Arthur growled at Gilbert with his eyes closed while Lovina put the final touches on the eyeliner and shadow.

"There, done." Lovina said leaning away from Arthur. She reached up and tugged the wig into place again before shoving Arthur to the mirror on the wall.

Arthur looked at himself in shock and embarrassment. Lovina had managed to find a summer green dress that flowed softly a little past his knees, swishing with every move he made. The wig on his head was shaped so he had a messy bun resting on the nape of his neck. The makeup made his eyes pop out and smoothed out his skin. If he didn't know his gender beforehand he would have thought that he was a girl. Even his eyebrows didn't look bad!

Gilbert whistled, "Nice!"

Arthur blushed, "Shut up! We need to go now, don't we?", he demanded stomping over to his bed to get the bag he was borrowing from Lovina.

"You're missing something, Artie," Gilbert chortled.

Arthur turned around slowly dread welling up from his stomach as he saw the pair of white high heeled shoes in Gilbert's hand.

"Absolutely not! You already have me in a dress. I'm wearing a stuffed bra and knickers! I even let you put make up on me, but I draw the line here!" Arthur panicked as Lovina and Gilbert approached him slowly trapping him in the corner of the room. "I said NO!"

* * *

"I can't believe I am doing this," Arthur muttered, tightening his grip on Gilbert's arm to keep from falling due to the heels he was wearing.

"You lost the bet, suck it up," Gilbert said getting annoyed by Arthur's constant moaning and whining.

Arthur glared at Gilbert as they walked over the body of one of the men in the prison yard.

"You sure that this man you stole the box from is here?" he asked.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I told ya, I'm sure. Do you doubt the awesome me who taking you here?" Gilbert sniped at Arthur.

Arthur huffed in contrite. He mumbled an apology to Gilbert as the prison warden, a short, fat man wearing a fez, led them to one of the cells.

"Is this the man you were looking for?" he asked. He motioned towards the cell, where several guards dragged in another man and forced him down on his knees. The man wore a sleeveless tee and trousers that had definitely seen better days and his hair grew wild around his shoulders a short beard growing on his jaw.

Gilbert squinted before nodding affirmative to the warden's question.

"Oi, American! You have visitors," the warden announced to the man who shoved away from the guards. Arthur looked in surprise at the rich blue eyes meeting his gaze.

"Who's the broad?" he questioned roughly, causing Arthur to turn red in indignation and anger. He felt marginally better after one of the guards hit the man upside the head.

"Kesese," Gilbert laughed before walking up close to the cell and leaning down to the level of the man. "Well, buddy, we have a couple of questions for ya", Gilbert started, before the man interrupted again.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked curiously.

Gilbert froze, his grin fading a bit. If he knew that Gilbert stole his wallet, he might not be willing to help them.

"Nope, I don't think so."

The man shook his head before saying "No, I remember you." He smiled darkly before hitting out with a punch to Gilbert's nose. Gilbert jerked back, but the fist still hit his cheek, making him fall backwards in pain. The man smirked, even as the guards hit him again. Arthur grinned as well, feeling vengeful due to his current state.

"What is he here for?" Arthur asked, talking softer and in a higher register to disguise himself.

"I don't know we picked him up from the bar, where he said he was having a good time" the warden shrugged, unconcerned.

"And what is his punishment?" Arthur asked.

"Hanging. Apparently he had a very good time," the warden said cheerfully.

'Oh dear', Arthur thought, before stepping over Gilbert's prone body to talk to the man.

"Um, hello? Excuse me, sir..." Arthur asked, smiling hopefully down at the man.

"Jones." he said, looking at him.

"Pardon?" Arthur asked, confused.

"Jones, my name is Alfred F. Jones."

"Oh, hello Mr. Jones. I, well we found your puzzle box, and I was wondering if you knew where it came from?" Arthur asked, a hesitant smile stretching his lips.

"No," Jones said, leaning back and looking at Arthur in amusement.

"No?" Arthur said annoyed.

"No, you want to know how to get to Hamunaptra", Alfred drawled out, already bored with the woman in front of him.

"H-how'd you know about Hamunaptra?" Arthur asked voice lowering in volume.

"Cuz that were I found it. I was there," Alfred said.

"So you know where it is? Are you sure? As in the exact location?" Arthur asked excitedly, leaning down to be level with Alfred's face.

"Yeah. I've been there," Alfred said, somewhat condescendingly, but Arthur ignored that.

"You swear?" Arthur persisted.

"Every day," came the quick amused reply. Alfred was starting to enjoy talking to the woman.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant," Alfred said, enjoying the red blush covering Arthur's cheeks. "That Seti dude's place, City of the Dead and all that."

"Well," Arthur licked his lips, unknowingly drawing Alfred's attention. "Can you find it again? I mean, can you tell me how to get there?"

Alfred smiled and it transformed his face, making him look younger and less tired and cynical. Arthur blushed slightly, but ignored it as he looked at Alfred intently.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked. Arthur nodded eagerly. The American motioned for Arthur to come closer, and he complied, leaning in so there was only a little breathing space between them.

"You want to find Hamunaptra?" Alfred asked casually.

Arthur nodded again, before squeaking as he was drawn forward by a hand at the back to his neck. His eyes were wide open as Alfred kissed him harshly.

Breaking the kiss off, Alfred hissed, "Then get me the hell out of here, lady!", before he was dragged back by the guards.

Arthur straightened slowly, hands going up to cover his lips, eyes still on Alfred's. Alfred threw him a judging look, before he was taken back inside.

Arthur turned to look at the warden.

"When is his sentence being carried out?" he demanded, almost forgetting to raise his voice in pitch.

The warden looked at him in surprise. "Now." he said simply. "Would you like to watch? I might be amendable to change my mind."

This was accompanied by a quick glance over Arthur's body. Arthur bristled but nodded nonetheless and followed the warden to where the hanging was presumably taking place. Arthur left Gilbert behind; the man was already up and getting ice for his cheek from one of the guards. He motioned for Arthur to continue on, and Arthur nodded before turning back to the warden.

Arthur walked behind the warden into a rectangular wooden building, which was built like the coliseum, with seats around the sides of the building quickly filling with spectators and other prisoners brought out to watch the hanging. The warden led Arthur to a seat several levels above and in front of the hangman's platform. Arthur sat down just as the doors opened just below him, and Alfred was dragged out and up the stairs of the platform.

As a guard looped the noose around his head, he asked Alfred if he had any last requests.

"Yeah, let me go." Alfred grumbled. The other man looked at him then shouted to the warden in Arabic.

Arthur hid a grin as the warden shouted back that of course they weren't going to let him go. The guard turned around and hit Alfred on the head before adjusting the noose.

"I'll give you one hundred pounds to save this man's life." Arthur said, looking over at the warden.

He scoffed. "Lady, I'd pay a hundred pounds just to see him hang!"

Arthur looked back at Alfred, who by now had the noose tied snug around his neck.

"I'll give you two, two hundred pounds!" Arthur blurt out, looking at Alfred worriedly.

"Proceed," the warden called out lazily.

"Five hundred pounds!"

"Oh?" the warden said, looking slyly at Arthur. "What else would you be willing to give me? I'm a lonely man," the warden placed a hand on Arthur's thigh, rubbing in gently.

Arthur's face turned a deep red as he smacked the offending hand with the check book he held in his hand. The people who were watching the exchange laughed boisterously at the warden, who sullenly clutched his hands. He shouted at the crowd before barking an order to the guard. The man nodded in understanding before pulling the lever, collapsing the floor underneath Alfred. Alfred dropped down, his body twisting around, but he was still alive.

"No!" Arthur cried out, but he calmed down when it appeared that Alfred was still alive.

"Ah, his neck didn't break! Now we must watch him strangle to death," the warden remarked casually.

Arthur looked at the warden and then at Alfred, whose face was red and was starting to wheeze slightly. Panicked,

Arthur blurted out the first thing that came to his head.

"He knows the location of Hamunaptra!" Arthur said quickly.

The warden looked over at Arthur in surprise. "You lie!" he said in disbelief.

Arthur looked affronted. "I would never lie!"

"Are you telling me this filthy, godless, son of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead?" the warden demanded, waving an arm to the slowly strangling figure of Alfred.

"Yes! If you cut him down, I'll give you ten percent of the findings."

A greedy look came into the warden's eye. "I want fifty percent."

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Thirty!"

"Twenty-five."

"Hah! Deal," Arthur cried out at tricking the warden to lower the percentage.

The warden groaned when he realized he fell for the trick, but shouted the order to cut Alfred down nonetheless.  
The guard standing at the hangman's platform swung his cutlass and the rope severed dropping Alfred to the dirt.  
Arthur stood up and walked closer to the railings. He saw Alfred being pulled up by several guards, the rope being taken off his neck before it could damage him more. Their eyes met, Alfred's showing grudged respect while Arthur raised his eyebrow and smirked.

* * *

In Cairo the next day, the museum curator from Italy sat behind a mahogany desk looking at the three men in front of him. The men were garbed in all black. Their faces were hard as they regarded the man in front of them silently.

Mr. Bay stood up his hands clasped behind his back.

"There is going to be a party looking for the City tomorrow," he said succinctly.

The men before him exchanged glances before one of them, a man with a silver hook in place of a hand said, "Why bother us? Let the desert deal with these people, as it has the others before them."

"The leader of this group has the map and key."

The group grew still sucking their breath in sharply.

"Are you certain, Terrance?" asked another man.

Terrence Bay nodded. "Somehow he managed to find the key. I'm certain that it is genuine and the map is accurate as well."

"Then we will do what must be done," the man with the hook said, raising said weapon so that it gleamed in the light of the small office.

Terrence nodded. "The map and key are in the possession of this man, Mr. Arthur Kirkland," he said. He pulled out a picture of Arthur taken as he boarded the train with Gilbert and Lovina. The curator handed the picture to one of the men.

"Get the map if possible, but the key is top priority. Good luck, may God be with you," Terrence said giving a hard glare to at his fellow members of the Medjai.

It was unfortunate for Mr. Kirkland, but he had warned him. The creature must not be awakened even if it cost a few lives in order to keep it that way.

* * *

**R & R please!  
~Kosaji**


	5. Ambush on the Ship

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mummy or Hetalia**

**Thank you to my Beta Jazz E. Roisin for all her help. This chapter will be a little slow, but things will pick up during the next chapter, I promise. Enjoy~**

* * *

_The next day, Giza Port, Cairo_

"Hurry up Gilbert! The ship is right there!" Arthur called. He hefted a suitcase in one hand and a large duffel bag on the opposite shoulder.

Gilbert rolled his eyes at Arthur's excitement. He had this hyperactive excitement when they took to ferry across the Channel years ago, acting like a child at his first fair. Gilbert lugged his own suitcase behind him as he meandered through the busy port and kept Arthur in sight. The man was an easy target whenever he got this excited, and Gilbert did not want his friend to be robbed or get into trouble that he couldn't get out of.

Arthur stopped in front of the ship they were taking down the Nile to Hamunaptra. Alfred had told them to get tickets for the ship, which was rather easy to do, despite booking them the last minute.

They dropped Lovina at the airport yesterday; thankfully she had arrived safely back in her and Arthur's two bedroom apartment. She made them promise to call her to let her know whether they survived "playing hide and go seek in the fucking desert" or not.

Gilbert stopped next to Arthur and looked over at the slightly shorter man. Arthur was looking at the ground pensively, a furrow forming between his two thick eyebrows.

"What's up Eyebrows?" Gilbert asked observing the rest of the port.

"Um, well, I was wondering if Jones would show up," Arthur mumbled.  
Gilbert snorted, "What, you got a crush on him?"

Arthur started, "No! I mean, we did just get him out of prison, who's to say he won't run off?"

"Nah," Gilbert said leaning against the rails of the walk-board connecting the ship to land. "He's a cowboy, I know the type."

"Cowboy?" Arthur questioned.

"Yeah, if he gives his word, he'll follow it no matter what. Don't worry about it."

"Really? Well, that's something to make up for the lack of decorum he has." Arthur blushed slightly as he remembered the kiss.

"Kesesese, still sore over the kiss? Man Artie, you need to let go, it's not like it was your first one." Gilbert snickered. "Besides, what you have to worry about is explaining why you are suddenly a guy."

Arthur paled. In his excitement, he forgot that Alfred had only seen him when he was in a dress. The other times they had talked were over the cheap phone Gilbert had bought Alfred.

"Think fast," was the only warning Arthur had before Alfred stepped into view.

Arthur's blush deepened when he realized that Alfred F. Jones was rather attractive. Alfred had a haircut and a shave, cleaning up to reveal his boyish charm, the small strand of hair sticking up in the front only adding to it. He managed to find glasses somewhere along with a nice khaki suit. Over it he wore, oddly enough, a bomber jacket.

Arthur heard Gilbert laughing quietly, "Cat got your tongue?"

Arthur glared at Gilbert and refused to dignify the jab with a response.

"Hey there!" Alfred said in greeting.  
"Are you looking for something?" Arthur asked.

Alfred turned and looked at him. "Yeah, there was a girl I met yesterday, pretty tall with big eyebrow...kinda like yours." Alfred's speech slowed down as he looked at Arthur, who was steadily turning red.

"Hmm, she has the same eyes as you do. Are you two related?" Alfred asked.

"Kesesese," Gilbert laughed. "Nah, Arthur here only has brothers. He's the one that saved your neck."

Alfred looked at Gilbert in confusion before it dawned on him. He looked back at Arthur, who was staring resolutely at the ground, face and ears bright red.

"Wait a second, you were that girl?!" Alfred asked incredulously, pointing a finger at Arthur. Alfred paled, "Oh God, I kissed you!"

Arthur flinched slightly at his second comment. Alfred's indignation riled him. "Well, it's not like I wanted to dress like a girl; Gilbert was the one who made me! Besides, you should be grateful I was cross dressing, otherwise that prison warden would never have let you go!" Arthur snapped.  
Before Alfred could reply to the fiery Brit, he was interrupted by the arrival of the prison warden, this time wearing cleaner clothes and a fez.

"Good day to you all!" he said.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur groaned.

"Well, my dear, I'm looking after my investment. After all, you were the one to tell me what he knows," the warden said gleefully.

Arthur choked. "W-wait, you knew I was-"

"Of course!" the warden said. "I knew since you took off that scarf of yours after the American was let go." The warden smiled at Arthur. "If you get lonely and need a man, please, come find me."

Arthur couldn't suppress the revolted shiver that passed through him when the warden gave him a glance over, only to be met with the combined glares of Gilbert and Alfred. The warden shrugged before picking up his bag and boarding the ship.

"Looks like you got a fan, Eyebrows." Gilbert said relaxing once the pervert was away from his friend.

"Let's just board, shall we?" Arthur said, boarding the ship.

The two men still on land looked at each other. Gilbert smirked. "Nice day to start an adventure, eh?" he said clapping a hand on Alfred's shoulder.

Alfred's smile was crooked. "Yeah, nice day," he said. He checked to see if his wallet was still on his person.

"Oh, I don't steal from partners; don't have to worry about that. However," Gilbert's smile grew darker, his eyes giving him an evil look, "If I catch wind of you giving Arthur trouble, all bets are off. Understand?"

Alfred nodded slowly. "So, why was he in a dress?"

Gilbert grinned. "The Eyebrows lost a bet; of course I was going to make the most of it. Besides, he made a good girl, ja?" Gilbert smirked when Alfred's cheeks turned pink.

"Whatever, let's just get on board." Alfred busied himself with getting his bag. "Oh, by the way, no hard feelings about the, you know," Alfred motioned to Gilbert's face, where there was a bruise left from Alfred's fist.

"No hard feelings, my man! I would have done the same!" Gilbert laughed.  
"Yeah," Alfred said hesitantly, unsure of what to make of the German and Brit he agreed to help. At any rate, he was going back to the cursed city, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

Later that night, Alfred opened the door to the deck of the ship. There were several tables set up for people to sit at or gamble. He walked toward Gilbert who was playing cards with a group of American men, judging from the sound of their accents.

"Cut the deck will ya, Burns?" Alfred heard as he walked up to the table. He shifted his bag higher up his shoulder. He looked down at the table Gilbert was sitting at, a deck of cards resting near the hands of a man in a gray shirt who was busy cleaning his wire-rimmed eye glasses.

"Without my glasses I can't see the deck to cut it, now can I, Daniels?" the man replied sarcastically before reaching a tanned hand over to the deck, cutting it in half neatly.

"What's up guys?" Alfred questioned, recognizing the men as the American crew that was going on a treasure hunt.

"Jones, my man! Care for a game of poker?" Daniels, a tall man with cropped black hair, asked. He leaned back in his chair blue eyes looking into Alfred's.

"Nah," Alfred said, "I only gamble with my life, not my money."

"Oh really?" Burns questioned. "And what have you been up to that you had to bet on your life?"

Alfred's smile turned sharp, "Well, there is still a war going on, isn't that right, boys?" Alfred asked sweetly.

Burns glared at Daniels, who looked away awkwardly. "R-right, sorry man. No hard feelings?" Daniels said, looking at Alfred.

"Oh yeah, no problem." Alfred said. "If you don't mind, I'll be over there. Nice meeting you guys." Alfred walked across the deck and down the side of the ship. There were a few small tables set up along the railing with a few electric lamps set up above them to offer the passengers more light. At the end of the passageway where the stables stood were the horses and camels the Americans and Gilbert rented for the journey. Boxes of cargo lined the walls of the ship leaving a small walkway with enough room for two men to walk through side by side.

Arthur sat at one of the tables book in hand when a heavy bag was tossed on the table in front of him. Arthur yelped. Alfred smiled at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, didn't mean ta scare you." He said, fiddling with the bag, unwrapping it one fastening at a time.

Arthur huffed looking at Alfred. "The only thing that scares me are your manners, you git."

"Still angry about that kiss, huh?"

Arthur blushed and looked away. "Well, if you call _that _a kiss."

Alfred's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He pulled on the bag sharply, unrolling the bag in front of Arthur, revealing a plethora of guns and other assorted weapons. Arthur looked at the small arsenal in front of him in surprise.

"Did I miss something?" he trailed off. "Why do you have all this?"

Alfred gave a short bark of a laugh before sitting down across from Arthur to assemble a gun.

"I don't know about you man, but there is something out there, something in the sand."

Arthur leaned forward. "What do you mean? What's underneath the sand?"

"In a word: evil." Alfred said. He holstered one of his guns by his waist and assembling another one as he spoke.

"Evil?" Arthur asked hesitantly. A chill went through him as he thought about the curator's warning. The small feeling of foreboding he felt from the puzzle box did not ease his sudden anxiety. "Well, they do say that Hamunaptra is cursed." Arthur said.

"Yeah sure, cursed." Alfred snorted in disbelief. He knew there was something there, maybe a UFO, but curses? Those things didn't exist. "Anyway, why do you want to go to Hamunaptra? The buried treasure?" Alfred asked, putting a gun into his last holster under his arm, before packing up his bag.

"Oh, well," Arthur startled. "There is a book buried in the sands. It's called the book of Amun-Ra, also known as the Book of the Dead. I was hoping to find it."

"The Book of the Dead? The one that's made out of solid gold?" Alfred questioned.

Arthur smiled, "You know your history! Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"I know my treasure." Alfred corrected before smirking at the Briton. "Not so bad, huh? Are you falling for me Arthur? Well, I can't blame you, no one can resist the Hero!" Alfred boasted without thinking.

Arthur turned a deep red before getting up in a huff and walking away.

"What?" Alfred asked. Alfred froze, looking down at the off white surface of the table deep in thought.

'A hero, huh? I haven't thought like that in years', Alfred mused. He turned in his chair to see Arthur get distracted by one of the camels at the makeshift stables. Alfred smiled genuinely as he watched Arthur pet the much larger animal. There was something about Arthur Kirkland that brought out the best in Alfred, the part he thought he lost through the years spent in wars and wandering around the world.

Alfred's attention was captured when he heard a small squeak coming from his left. He turned his head around and spotted a shadow crouching among the cargo. Silently, Alfred walked over and reached over to grab a man. With his superior strength, Alfred lifted the man up and pushed him against the boxes.

"Well, if it ain't my little buddy Beni!" Alfred said, a southern American drawl creeping into his voice. Beni hadn't changed much in the three years since Alfred had last seen him. He was still thin, wearing his ever present fez and trembling in fear. Alfred felt disgust and anger rise up within him.

"I'm going to kill you now!" Alfred said, almost cheerfully, bringing up a gun and pointing it to Beni's head, on hand wrapped around the other man's collar, keeping him in place.

"Wait! Think of my children!" the Hungarian cried out.

"You don't have any children!" Alfred said incredulously.

"I might in the future." Beni offered weakly. Alfred let him go in disgust.

"What are you doing here, Jones? You never believed in Hamunaptra, and now you're going back." Beni questioned, looking up at the taller male.

"You heard that, huh?" Alfred said, not really surprised. Beni was the best at information gathering in their squadron. "Why are you here anyway? Leading some poor fools to Hamunaptra?" Alfred said, not really expecting to be correct. He was taken aback when Beni shrugged casually and murmured about a group of Americans.

Alfred laughed sharply. "So what's the scam, Beni? You take them into the desert and leave them to rot?"

Beni nodded glumly. "These Americans are smart, they pay me half now, and the other when we get back to Cairo."

"Sucks, huh?" Alfred said in fake sympathy.

"You didn't answer my question, Jones," Beni said.

Alfred looked over to Arthur, who was out of earshot and had his back turned to the pair, petting the camel.

"See that guy over there? He saved my life," Alfred motioned towards Arthur. At the moment, Arthur turned around, and seeing that he was being observed, turned red and walked away.

"You always did have more balls than brains, Jones." Beni commented.

Alfred choked, "What do you mean by- I'm not gay!"

Beni snorted. "Sure you aren't. That's why you were staring at his ass."

Alfred glared as Beni began laughing. "Good-bye Beni," Alfred lifted the man with one hand and tossed him over the side of the boat.

Alfred ignored Beni's angry shouts as he picked up his bag. He paused, however, when he saw a small puddle next to the boat. He followed the puddles with his eyes, seeing that they followed the same direction Arthur went in. Alfred looked over the side of the boat, paranoia rising in his mind. He didn't see anything in the dark waters, but he did see a small shape moving quickly further along the sides of the boat. Alfred paused before pushing off the railing, denting it some as he ran to Arthur's room.

* * *

Arthur was puttering around the small room he was staying in getting ready for bed. He had changed from the suit he was wearing earlier to a long loose white tee shirt that reached his knees and a pair of boxers with the Union Flag printed on them. The map was on a small table next to Arthur's knapsack. Arthur flitted over to the small mirror hanging by the wall when he noticed one of his books lying on the ground. He knelt to pick it up, but when he straightened, he was greeted with the sight of a stranger dressed in all black in the mirror directly behind him. Arthur let out a shriek. The man behind him grabbed his throat roughly and placed the tip of the hook attached to his hand against Arthur's jugular as a silent threat. Arthur looked at the man's hard face.

"Where is the map?" The man asked. Arthur turned his head trembling as the hook bit into his flesh slightly, nodding towards the table. The man turned to look at the table and after discerning that it was the map, he turned back to Arthur.

"And the key? Where is the key!" the man demanded.

"K-key? What key?" Arthur stammered, wide green eyes looking into the black ones of his captor.

"Arthur!"

Alfred kicked open the door a gun in each hand pointed to the man holding Arthur hostage. The man turned around, dragging Arthur in front of him, the hook staying on his neck. Alfred froze, unwilling to shoot in case he hit Arthur as well. Just then the window opening into the hallway creaked loudly and revealed another man, dressed similarly to the one that captured Arthur. Alfred and the man at the window opened fire on each other. The man ducked out of the line of fire as Alfred kept shooting bullets tearing through the thin walls of the room.

The man with the hook dragged Arthur towards the table with the map. Arthur went willingly, though while the man was distracted by the gunshots, Arthur reached forward towards his open knapsack. He ignored the metal biting into his neck, creating a small cut, and grabbed the pocketknife he kept in the sack. Flipping it open quickly he stabbed the man behind him in the thigh. The man yelled and backed away from Arthur as he pulled the dagger out of his thigh. Arthur grabbed his bag before running behind Alfred, who had managed to shoot the other man. Unfortunately, he had reinforcements and yet another man appeared at the window, shooting at the two of them. Alfred kept Arthur behind him as they retreated to the doorway. Alfred pushed Arthur through the door, following behind quickly, but not before shooting the other man in the heart. He holstered one gun, already empty of bullets and ran after Arthur.

"Wait, the map! The map!" Arthur criedeyes wide as he wheeled around, running back to the room. Alfred caught his arm as he passed.

"Relax, I'm the map!" Alfred said, pulling Arthur along. "It's all up here."

"That's comforting." Arthur groused speeding up to match the American's stride.

* * *

**A/N: Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Chapter 6 will be up next Friday. Until then.**

**~Kosaji**

Preview:

_"Can you swim?" Alfred had to shout to be heard over the noise._

_"No! Why?" Arthur shouted back. Alfred thrust his bag at Arthur, who barely caught it. "Don't let go of that, ok?"_

_"What do you mean?" Arthur demanded, before gasping as he was scooped up and then deposited over the edge of the boat. _


	6. Hamunaptra

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mummy or Hetalia. **

**The usual thanks to by Beta Jazz E. Roisin for her help with this chapter. **

* * *

It was chaos on deck. Someone had set fire to the stables, which meant the attendants had to scramble to secure the panicking horses and camels. The fire spread to the rest of the ship as well which forced the passengers to throw themselves overboard.

In the midst of the pandemonium Gilbert ran toward Arthur's cabin.

"Arthur?" he shouted. He looked around quickly and saw that while Arthur's suitcase and book were lying around, his knapsack was missing. Gilbert took it as a sign that Arthur had already left the room and was among the panicking masses outside. He lunged forward and grabbed the map stowing it away in his duffel bag. He had just won five hundred off of the Americans and was celebrating with one of the quality beers he smuggled in his room when he heard the gunshots. He immediately grabbed his bag and went searching for the other members of his party.

Gilbert paused just before he left and gave the room a glance over. There were bullet holes littering the wall that he didn't notice in his rush to find Arthur. Gilbert frowned as he ran off to find Arthur. He hoped his friend was still alive.

Gilbert ran towards the bow of the boat. He slammed against the rails and watched the Americans he had played with before engage in a shoot out with the men in black. The Americans had turned several tables on their sides along with some of the cargo to make a barricade. The other men hid behind the cargo as well as inside the ship. Gilbert snorted at the Americans all of whom were whooping in excitement as they shot continuously at their opponents. The only one who didn't seem excited was their Egyptologist, who twitched with each gunshot behind the Americans.

The back of Gilbert's neck prickled, and he jumped away barely avoiding another man wearing black who tried to tackle him after running out from the doorway. Gilbert swung his fist and hit the other man in the jaw. The man fell back with a pained moan. Then he pulled himself up and swung the metal hook he had in place of a hand at Gilbert. Gilbert jumped backwards and bumped against one of the supporting columns. The man limped forward, but jerked to the side as a bullet just missed him. One of the Americans had noticed Gilbert's plight and shot at the man. The American kept shooting enthusiastically. He laughed when the man screamed and knocked the railing and the thin canvas covering it into river following soon after.

"Thanks," Gilbert nodded to the American. Henderson, he thought his name was. The blond man gave him a grin and a flippant salute back, fixing the ridiculous gallon hat on his head, before he turned back to his partners. The grin fell when the Americans realized the fire had gotten inside the ship and was burning out of control. Gilbert and the Americans exchanged a look before jumping overboard.

* * *

Alfred and Arthur made it out of the narrow corridor only to jump back as another man shot at them. Alfred fumbled in his pockets for two clips and reloaded his guns. Arthur flinched as the gunshots continued. He jumped when bullet holes formed in the wall they used as cover. His eyes grew wider with each bullet fired as the holes grew closer to their position. He jerked Alfred back barely missing the next bullet. Alfred smirked at Arthur before pulling him around the corner. Alfred let Arthur go as he used both guns to shoot down the man from the balcony. Alfred pulled Arthur through the chaos and avoided panicking people and rampaging animals alike. He occasionally shot at the men targeting them.

"Can you swim?" Alfred had to shout.

"No! Why?" Arthur shouted back. He looked at Alfred with sudden trepidation.

"Shit!" Alfred said in frustration. "Look, I'm going to need you to hold onto this." Alfred thrust his bag at Arthur. "Don't let go of that, ok?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur demanded. He gasped when Alfred scooped him up and dropped him over the edge of the boat.

Alfred climbed up on the railing and fell back as a man jumped over at the same time as him. The two grappled on the ground before Alfred managed to push the other man away long enough to stand up. The man punched Alfred in the cheek. Alfred grunted when the man continued to hit him across the face. Alfred got his bearings and brought his arms up to black the next punch. Then he swung his fist hard and knocked the man a few paces back. Alfred pressed forward and punched him one more time before lifting him and throwing him into the piled cargo.

Alfred looked over the side of the rail to jump again when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Jones!" called the prison warden. "Jones, what do we do?"

"Wait here," Alfred said holding his arms up in a placating gesture, "I'll go get help."

Alfred jumped over into the water. The warden looked placated by Alfred's words until he processed them. He grumbled to himself before jumping over the side as well.

Alfred surfaced with a gasp. He took off his glasses and shoved them into the inner pocket of his bomber jacket. He looked around for Arthur hoping his bag helped keep him afloat for a little bit. In the glow of the fire Alfred saw a struggling figure in white. Alfred swam over quickly. He saw that it was indeed Arthur who was flailing in the water.

Alfred reached out and grabbed his bag, which was luckily waterproof, and the items within were light enough to give it some buoyancy. Arthur gasped as he felt the bag move. He shifted to see Alfred treading water in front of him.

"Jones!" Arthur gasped accidentally swallowing some water. "You utter scoundrel! I told you I couldn't swim!"

Alfred laughed as he drew the Brit closer. Arthur complied wrapping his arms around Alfred's wide shoulders and legs around his hips, eager to stay afloat.

"Hey!" Alfred protested. He grabbed his bag and wrapped an arm around the shivering man. "Don't move too much or both of us will drown," Alfred warned. Arthur didn't say anything

"What now?" Alfred questioned

In response, Arthur tightened his grip on Alfred, a whimper escaping his throat.

* * *

Gilbert surfaced with a splash and kept a firm grip on his bag. He heard a familiar sputtering to his left and saw Arthur and Alfred. Gilbert sighed in relief and swam over to them. Arthur was clinging to Alfred desperately. Gilbert swam close and poked Alfred.

The America jumped in surprise and went under for a moment, making Arthur screech in fear. He resurfaced quickly scowling at Gilbert.

"Come on, we need to get to shore!" Gilbert said.

Alfred turned slightly and squinted into the darkness. Without his glasses, he couldn't see too far.

"Just follow me!" Gilbert said recognizing Alfred's problem. He grabbed Alfred's bag and began swimming to shore.

Alfred coaxed Arthur into gripping his shoulders from the back and kicking which helped the American move easier through the water. Gilbert heard a splash behind him. He looked back to check on Arthur and Alfred and saw that the two were doing fine and the source of the frequent splashing was the prison warden who swam behind Alfred. Gilbert continued swimming and soon all four of them reached the shore.

Once Alfred could touch the bottom of the river with his feet he stood up and pulled Arthur from his back. The Brit was wide eyed. He looked small in the now see through wet shirt and boxers he was wearing. He didn't even have shoes on. Arthur clutched at Alfred as he walked over to shallow waters until Arthur could stand up as well. Arthur sighed as he felt the sand under his feet, and walked as fast as he could to the shore.

Alfred watched him go slowly walking to shore. He fished his glasses out from his jacket and shook them to try and get most of the water off.

"Hey, Jones! HEY!" came a shout from behind him.

Alfred turned to see Beni on the opposite shore.

"Looks like I got all the horses!" Beni shouted in glee.

"Hey Beni!" Alfred shouted. "It looks like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

Beni looked confused until he realized his surroundings. He cursed in Hungarian and kicked the water viciously.

"We lost everything!" came a distraught cry from behind Alfred. Alfred turned to see Arthur looking at the boat.

"All our equipment; my clothes!"

"It isn't that bad Artie." Gilbert said. "You put all the important stuff in the bag anyways, right?"

Arthur nodded. The backpack was not very big, but it was waterproof and the zippers kept the water from damaging the contents. All of Arthur's important documents, like his passport and ticket, as well as his money were in the bag.

"We need to move. Desert nights are not merciful," the warden said. He coughed to clear the river water from his lungs.

"Right," Alfred said. He kept an eye on Arthur, who was starting to shiver. "Does anyone have extra clothes? No?"

Gilbert, Arthur and the warden all shook their heads.

"Great." Alfred muttered under his breath.

"Right, everyone out of their clothes," Gilbert ordered.

At once Arthur squawked, the warden protested loudly and Alfred spun to look at the albino incredulously.

"You, Alfie." Gilbert ignored Alfred's glare. "Get some dry grass and see if you can find some along the shore. Arthur, you change out of those clothes, you're going to get sick. You" Gilbert pointed to the warden. "Go with Alfred. I'm going to try and start a fire."

The group moved to do as they were told with a few grumbles. Within ten minutes a fire was started with Gilbert's lighter. The four spread their clothes close by the fire to dry them. They sat around the other side of the fire in their boxers and ate snack bars Gilbert and Arthur had with them.

"Cheer up! There are bound to be desert people around somewhere." Alfred said around his bar.

"Don't chew with your mouth open!" Arthur said in disgust.

Alfred frowned at Arthur in irritation.

"You aren't my mother, old man." Alfred retaliated.

"Old!? I'll have you know I'm only 26!"

Alfred's frown slowly slipped away, a small, barely noticeably smile tugging at the corners.

"Really? With those sweaters and books I thought you'd be at least thirty." Alfred said.

Arthur glared into the fire. 'Who cared what that idiot thought anyways!?' Arthur steamed, ignoring the small amount of hurt from the American's comments.

"Oi, shut up the both of ya." Gilbert said.

He tossed Arthur his shirt. Inspecting his own shirt and trousers, he figured that they would take another fifteen to twenty minutes to dry.

"Just sleep, we can split up keeping watch." Gilbert said "I'll keep first watch then I'll wake one of you guys later." He continued.

Arthur nodded in agreement. He pulled his own pack towards him and laid his head on it. It was warm and toasty from staying close to the fire. Arthur closed his eyes in bliss and let out a small moan, much to the surprise of Alfred and the warden. Gilbert snorted at the two as Arthur drifted off to sleep quickly.

"He can act like a cat when he's tired." Gilbert confided amused at the small blush on Alfred's cheeks. He wasn't so amused by the matching blush on the prison warden's face, at the very least Alfred was harmless.

"Go to bed." He ordered again. "I'll wake the next person up in a few hours."

Alfred and the warden complied.

* * *

The next morning, Arthur opened his eyes slowly. Gilbert and the warden were snoring around a dying fire, and Alfred was nowhere to be seen, though his bag was still there. Rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes, Arthur, checked the small camp they made late last night and saw Alfred lounging against one of the few trees around them, cleaning his gun.

"Morning!" The American called noticing Arthur was awake.

Alfred was in a much better mood when his clothes were dry and his guns were in working condition.

"Good morning." Arthur replied. He tottered off towards the trees a little away from the camp to relieve himself and brush his teeth.

When he returned, Gilbert and the warden were up and raiding the last of the snack bars in Arthur and Gilbert's possession. Arthur groaned when he realized that he wouldn't be able to drink any tea until they got back to civilization.

"What now?" Arthur asked.

"Now, we go that way." Alfred said, pointing off down the river.

The rest of the group followed his finger and saw nothing. Looking back at Alfred, they saw him humming to himself in satisfaction.

"Well? What is there?" The warden burst out impatiently.

"Over that hill gentlemen, is a town." Alfred said smugly. "I saw when I climbed up that tree over there."

Arthur looked at the tree, impressed with Alfred, though he wouldn't show it.

"Well, then. Lead the way." Arthur said.

Alfred smiled and walked ahead.

"Onwards march, then!" He cheered a bright grin on his face.

It took about half an hour to clear the hill and see a bustling village.

"Come on; let's see if we can get something to eat, and to wear." Alfred added.

The quartet split up, Arthur to look for clothes and a pair of shoes, and Alfred to find food and supplies. The warden and Gilbert were left to find transportation. The warden snuck away from Gilbert when they found a man willing to sell them his camels leaving Gilbert to bargain without a translator.

That was how Alfred found the albino after locating and buying food and water for the rest of the journey.

Gilbert was shouting at the vendor, repeatedly saying that he only needed four of the camels, not all six.

"Damn animals cost a fortune." he mumbled as he paid the man, wallet feeling significantly lighter.

"Well, they are worth the fortune; we need to use them to get to Hamunaptra, unless you want to walk with all of the stuff." Alfred remarked.

Gilbert wrinkled his nose but made no comment as they walked. They eventually ran into Arthur.

Alfred looked on as Arthur chatted with the other women in a foreign tongue, all while sewing a pattern on a piece of cloth.

Arthur managed to find a pair of light, black pants which he tucked another cotton shirt into. His first shirt was on his lap, Alfred noticed on closer inspection, and being used for embroidery.

'And here I thought he couldn't get more girly.' Alfred thought. Alfred felt a small smile form on his lips when he saw the pleased look on Arthur's face.

Looking up, Arthur blushed when he realized he was the focus of several stares.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. You ready to go?" Gilbert asked.

"Oh, yes, give me a minute." Arthur said. A minute later the women were all talking to Arthur quickly, thanking him for showing his embroidery and well wishes for his journey.

It took half an hour for the women to let Arthur go, much to the annoyance of Alfred, and to a lesser degree, the warden and Gilbert.

"Seems like you are popular with the ladies." Alfred remarked offhandedly.

"Hmm?" Arthur said, looking up from where he was tying up his bag. "Oh, yes. I offered to show them some of my embroidery to the store owner and soon her daughters and friends came over as well. It was very nice."

"I bet." Alfred grumbled before mounting his camel.

"Did you say something?"

"Nope, nothing!" Alfred said. He watched Arthur climb on his camel. Two clicks of Alfred's tongue and the animal raised itself on its legs. Arthur gasped at the speed the camel stood.

Alfred gave a small chuckle before ordering his camel up as well. Gilbert and the prison warden soon followed suit. The group headed out to the desert. They only stopped to take short breaks to stretch out their legs.

Alfred was at the head of the group, Arthur right behind him, occasionally speeding up to walk side by side with Alfred. Gilbert and the warden were in the back, though they kept changing places according to whims of their camels. They talked about their lives before Hamunaptra. Arthur impressed Alfred with his knowledge of foreign languages, and Gilbert told them about the pranks he played on Roderich and Elizaveta when they were all kids. The warden entertained them all with stories from his youth and the local legends around Hamunaptra. Apparently, his family was descendants of servants who worked in Hamunaptra for the Pharaoh's High Priests, it was the only reason he did not believe the city to be a hoax like many others.

Night fell and the temperature dropped. The men pulled out another layer of clothes to keep warm and continued on through the night.

Alfred jumped slightly when Arthur's head fell on his shoulder. The two of them were in the front, with Gilbert, Arthur and the warden's camels tied loosely together with Alfred's to keep the animals from wandering off. Alfred stayed awake. He was the only one who knew the way to the city and had to keep them from getting lost. From the loud snores behind him, Alfred could tell that the warden and Gilbert were asleep as well. Alfred gently pushed Arthur upright, the smaller blond still fast asleep.

Alfred looked around; the desert was quiet and seemingly peaceful. Yet Alfred couldn't shake off a feeling that something was wrong. He remembered this feeling always came whenever there was danger around. Alfred did a quick sweep of their immediate surroundings. The rest of the group was sleeping, and the camels were walking forward calmly. He looked further, the night illuminated by the full moon. Alfred's eyes locked onto the top of a cliff and saw a black shadow. Taking out a small telescope, Alfred could see at least five men, dressed similarly to the men from the ship, on horseback, looking at Alfred and his company. The one in the middle, the leader, did nothing and Alfred lowered his telescope and looked away. As long as they did not attack he would not do anything in return.

Several hours later Alfred woke the others and untied the camels. They took a break, and Alfred told Arthur to continue in the same direction for the next two hours. While they continued, Alfred took a much needed nap.

Arthur shook him awake exactly two hours later, and Alfred took over again, occasionally falling asleep, but never for too long. By this time, the sun was just starting to show over the horizon.

"All right, here's the place." Alfred said. Arthur looked around and saw nothing but sand.

"Well? Where is it?" the warden asked impatiently.

"Hey!" the four heard a voice call out to them. They looked in surprise at the American team, led by Beni. The Americans were riding on horses, and had at least twenty hired diggers riding behind them.

"Looks like they made it too." Alfred said.

"Hey, Jones! You didn't tell us you were heading to Hamunaptra," Henderson said.

"Didn't seem important at the time," Alfred called back.

"Well, why don't we have a little wager?" Daniels said. "What do ya say? Five hundred dollars for the first one to Hamunaptra?"

Alfred considered the bet. "All right, you're on."

"Well that's good and all, but where is the city?" Arthur asked.

"Just wait and see." Alfred said, nodding to the horizon. "It won't be long now."

The sun was rising higher in the sky, and as the two groups watched, a ripple appeared in the air. What seemed to be the rest of the horizon distorted and reformed into an image of a cliff overlooking a large city.

"There it is." the Egyptologist with the Americans breathed out.

"Hamunaptra," Burns said with relish.

Arthur looked in awe at the city that he had heard so many stories about. Soon, he would finally be in there. It seemed too good to be true.

Alfred seemed to be the only one not excited about the city. He looked at the ruins with misgiving.

"Here we go again," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

**Sorry I'm late! But the chapter is up and that is all that matters, right? **

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I was stuck for a second when I remembered in my headcanon England couldn't swim! And I hoped this gives some more insight to the warden. In the movie he didn't really have much purpose, so I decided to give him some sort of background.  
**

**Until next week!**

**~Kosaji  
**


	7. Tricks and Traps

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or The Mummy. Any changes and deviations to the plot are mine.**

**Warning: There is some gore in this chapter. Read at own risk!**

* * *

"Yea!" the Americans shouted urging their horses forward.

Alfred's group reacted a second later to spur their camels through the sand. Beni and Alfred were in the lead, Arthur right behind them, with Gilbert and the warden bringing up the rear. The American's horses fell behind, tired from the journey along with the disadvantage of having shorter legs.

Beni looked over at Alfred, the two racing side by side. He smirked before hitting Alfred with his riding crop. Alfred flinched, ducking his head to avoid the blow. Beni kept hitting him. Alfred tried to reach for the crop. He missed the crop, but managed to get a grip on Beni's shirt. Alfred lifted him easily with one arm and tossed him off of his camel.

"Serves you right!" Alfred heard Arthur say. Alfred looked to his side to see that Arthur was easily keeping up with him. Arthur gave him a matching grin and tutted to his camel. Arthur gave a short yelp as his camel sped up unexpectedly. Arthur laughed the sound of pure joy reaching Alfred's ears as he raced behind him.

"Go Arthur!" Gilbert crowed from behind them. Their group was keeping a steady lead and the Americans and their diggers right behind them but with no chance of catching up.

Arthur raced past the stone walls surrounding the ruins and slowed to a stop. His laughter died as he took in his surroundings in amazement.

"So this is Hamunaptra."

"Yep. In all of its sandy glory," Alfred said. He looked around in distaste at the remains of the buildings. He could still picture the fight that he fought three years ago.

"Alfred!"

Alfred jumped and looked at Arthur sheepishly. The Brit looked annoyed. Arthur had called the American several times already.

"Where did you find the box?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, about that," Alfred said rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't really find it."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked sharply. If he and Gilbert were now classifying stealing as 'finding' things he was going to get Lovina's gun and shoot them.

"Come on. I'll show you," Alfred sighed guiding his camel to the outskirts of the city.

The two traveled a short distance, only a few minutes from the center of the ruins, but still outside of it. Past a doorway made up of two rock pillars and a slab stood a tall statue.

"Oh my god. Is that what I think it is?" Arthur whispered.

"Huh?" Alfred said, swinging himself down from his camel.

"It's the statue of Anubis!" Arthur said excitedly. He jogged up to the statue and examined the jackal head intently. "This is where you found the key?"

"Well, yeah," Alfred said awkwardly.

"What is it?" Arthur asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Well..." Alfred said. "I didn't really find it. I found it in my pockets after I left here."

"In your pocket? Then why did you say you found it here?"

"It was weird." Alfred said after a pause. "The sand here suddenly blew up. Like really strong winds and stuff. I got away from here and the wind suddenly stopped. When I went back to camp, I found that," Alfred nodded to the box still in Arthur's bag, "In my pocket. I had no idea where it came from."

"Are you sure?" Arthur questioned. He was puzzled by the origins of the box.

"Yep. Well, anyways. What do you want to do here?" Alfred said quickly.

Arthur looked at Alfred for a moment. "Let's wait for Gilbert and Hassan first and then we can see about getting underground."

"Hassan?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, the prison warden!" Arthur said impatiently. He looked at the city and saw the aforementioned men riding towards them. "Ah, there they are!" He said in satisfaction.

"Did you not know his name? He told us while traveling," Arthur said.

Alfred shrugged. "I didn't really care."

"Didn't care for what?" Gilbert said. Arthur bit back a grin that he knew Gilbert wouldn't appreciate. The albino was forced to wear a large brimmed hat and apply a thick layer of sunscreen to his face and neck to keep his sensitive skin from burning

"Nothing," Arthur said. He wanted to avoid the argument Alfred's explanation would definitely cause. "We need to dig down. I believe that there is an underground chamber here."

Arthur motioned for Gilbert to get the shovels. Gilbert retrieved them and Arthur set the four of them to digging several feet behind the statue. After about half an hour Gilbert's shovel clanged against something made of metal. Five minutes later the group unearthed a pair of large metal discs. Both were placed in square mounts and were curved slightly to form a dome. Arthur and Gilbert set to work cleaning the discs while Alfred and the warden continued digging. It took Alfred and Hassan another hour before they hit solid stone. By this time, Arthur and Gilbert had most of the dirt and grime polished off the metal discs revealing smooth silver.

Alfred and the warden began digging outwards, to widening the hole. Arthur came over to see if he could help.

"Step back." Alfred warned lighting up a small stick of dynamite.

He tossed the stick into the hole they made and dragged Arthur and the warden back. The dynamite exploded with a loud bang, causing the ground to shake slightly and sand to blow into the air. Alfred crept closer as the sand settled once again. He was ready to jump back if the ground threatened to give under him. Testing the ground, he found it to be sturdy, and walked to the hole.

The stone at the bottom had fallen. A medium sized opening left a large dark space. The light from the sun allowed him to see the rubble collected on the ground but not much else.

"Can you see anything?" Arthur asked.

Alfred shook his head. "Nope, but you were right, there's a room right under here. We can climb down with some rope-"

Alfred was cut off as Arthur thrust a coil of rope under his nose.

"That'll do." Alfred said bemusedly. He walked over to a nearby pillar and began tying the rope to it.

"Gilbert, can you set the mirror over there?" Arthur asked. He pointed to a spot near the opening.

Arthur took the other mirror and set it across from Gilbert's catching the sun on his and reflecting it onto Gilbert's mirror. Arthur ignored Gilbert's yelp as the light accidentally shone in his eyes. Arthur walked over to Gilbert after he secured his mirror, and adjusted Gilbert's.

"You are meant to catch the sun with this," Arthur said, aiming the mirror so that a beam of light shone into the chamber.

"So, what are these for?" Alfred asked gesturing to the disc Arthur was fiddling with.

"These are ancient mirrors. The ancient Egyptians had a trick they used to light up spaces underground, you'll see."

"Oh." Alfred said casually. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small black roll. He handed the roll to Arthur.

"Here. I borrowed this off of our American friends. I thought you might wan- need! I thought you might need that," Alfred said. He blushed as he turned back to the rope.

Arthur looked at Alfred curiously and opened the roll. He smiled as he looked at an archeology kit. He rolled it up quickly and attached in to his belt a warm glow settling in his belly.

"Ready then?" Gilbert asked, looking over his shoulder at Alfred.

"Almost!" Alfred called back. He tied the rope once more. He grabbed the rest of the rope and began knotting it at intervals.

"It'll help us get up and down quicker." He said at Arthur's questioning glance. The other three sat down and waited as Alfred finished knotting the rope. Soon he was finished, and he threw the rope inside the hole.

"Check for bugs! I hate bugs." Hassan said as Alfred gripped the rope ready to jump down.

Alfred rolled his eyes. He took firm grip of the rope and jumped. He felt a rush as he fell, and then stopped with a sharp jerk. He swung around slightly but didn't mind, more focused on the fact that the rope held up against his weight. He climbed down quickly, the sunlight coming from above giving enough light for him to see the ground and a few feet around him. He shouted to the trio at the top that he was okay, and needed some more light.

Arthur chucked one of the torches they bought from the village. They did not have any flashlights, so they had to make do with what they had.

Alfred lit the end up with his lighter, moving aside to give Arthur more room to climb down. Gilbert climbed down quickly and the warden soon followed.

Arthur peered into the surrounding darkness. He took out his penlight and turned it on. He flashed the light around the room quickly.

"What are you doing?" Gilbert asked lighting another torch with the flame from Alfred's.

"The ancient Egyptian trick I was talking about." Arthur said dismissively. He found a mirror close to where they broke through. He angled it so the light from above hit it. He then aimed the beam towards a mirror he saw when he looked around the room.

"And then there was light." Arthur said triumphantly as the beam of light reflected between several mirrors lined up in two columns down the sides of the room. Several tall stone stools, all worn with age, stood on the perimeter of the room. The ground was covered with dust and sand. Metal instruments and several ceramic pots lay scattered around.

"Hey, that is a neat trick." Alfred said walking further into the chamber.

"Do you realize that we are the first people to be here in over a thousand years?" Arthur said.

"Well, yeah. There's plenty of dust to show for it." Gilbert said.

"Oh my, this is a Sah-Netjer." Arthur breathed.

"Huh?" Alfred asked. He noticed that Gilbert and Hassan both looked confused as well.

"A preparation chamber," Arthur said simply.

"For what?" Alfred asked again, annoyed.

"Mummies, my good man. This is where they made the mummies."

"Oh." Alfred smiled weakly. "Nice to know."

"Well?" Arthur smiled. "Let's go look around!"

The group moved over to the sole passageway leading out of the preparation room. Alfred led the way, with Arthur and Gilbert in the middle. The warden took up the rear so that there was one source of light for every other person. They all collectively flinched when loud scuttling noises rang out through the passage.

"What was that!" the warden hissed.

"Bugs," Alfred said. He raised the torch higher to make sure there was nothing in front of them.

"He said bugs." Arthur repeated.

Hassan shuddered in disgust.

The group continued on for the next few minutes and eventually came out into an open space.

"Look! It's the legs of Anubis." Arthur said. He pointed to the large limbs, leaning on a stand taller than Alfred, decorated with hieroglyphics.

"All we need to do now is find a way to open it." Arthur muttered to himself. He examined the stone stand. He flinched noticeably when a loud moaning sound echoed through the space. Alfred gave his torch to Arthur and pulled out his guns. Gilbert followed suit, tossing his torch to the warden and pulling out his own gun.

The group plastered themselves against the stand, Alfred at the very front and Arthur and the warden in the back, providing light. Alfred slowly cocked his guns as the sounds came closer. He slowly counted to three before jumping out and facing the source of the noise.

"Woah!"

Alfred was met with a barrage of guns as he faced the American team.

"Jesus, Jones. You almost gave us a heart attack," Henderson said lowering his gun.

"Likewise," Alfred said with a tight smile. He kept his guns up until every one of the American's group lowered their weapons.

"Well, have a nice day gentlemen, but we have a lot of work to be getting done," Arthur interrupted.

"Push off, this is our dig site," the Egyptologist said.

"We were here first." Arthur rebutted with a sharp glare. The only one without a gun he stayed at the back of the group. Even the warden had a gun ready in his hand.

The men put their guns up again.

"This here is our statue, friend." Burns said.

"I don't see your name on it. Pal." Alfred tossed back.

Arthur looked down as the men argued. He heard Beni tell Alfred that they had fifteen guns to Alfred's group of four. He was only half listening when Alfred told Beni he had worse odds as he examined that ground. He brushed some sand and pebbles down into a crack, a small smirk appeared when the pebbles echoed and continued to fall. Arthur looked back at the scene. The men were still locked in a stalemate, every finger on a trigger.

Arthur huffed and walked between the groups. "Now children," Arthur ignored the incredulous looks Alfred, Gilbert and Hassan gave him, as well as the annoyed ones the Americans' shot at him.

"If we are going to play together, we must learn how to share." Arthur finished, pushing down Alfred's gun. Giving him a sideways glance he said, "There are other places to dig."

Alfred stared at Arthur for a second then lowered his guns.

"You're the boss." Alfred said following Arthur as he pushed past the Americans, Gilbert and Hassan followed quickly.

Arthur weaved through the passageways, consulting several hieroglyphics carved into the walls. Eventually, Arthur led them to a large chamber heavily carved in hieroglyphics with a high ceiling. Several stool-sized metal tables with small statues of jackals on them were the only decorations. Arthur grabbed one of the torches and lit a tall wooden pillar; it caught light revealing it to be another torch, offering more light to the room. Arthur lit the remaining three torches before dousing his torch. They would re-light it when they headed back.

"Come on, according to these hieroglyphics, we should be right underneath the statue of Anubis." Arthur said, grabbing one of the tables. Gilbert joined him and together they moved the table near the middle of the room. Alfred grabbed the next table and was dragging it slowly towards Arthur and Gilbert. The two men stared in surprise at Alfred.

Gilbert whistled, "You weren't kidding when you said you were strong," he said. Arthur nodded in agreement. The tables were really heavy, and here Alfred was dragging one behind him like it weighed nothing!

"So, now what? We dig our way up?" Alfred asked.

"Yep!" Gilbert said, pulling out a small pick axe and mallet. Giving one to Alfred he said, "When those damn yanks go to bed, no offense," Gilbert said with a quick look at Alfred.

"None taken." Alfred said as he climbed up on the tables.

"We'll steal the book from under their noses!" Gilbert continued, snickering.

"Are you sure we will be able to reach the secret compartment?" Alfred asked, hitting the ceiling with the mallet, loose stone and dust falling out in front of him.

"Oh yes." Arthur said, getting up on the tables to help clear some of the rocks. "Those American gits haven't beaten us to it. No offense." Arthur added looking at Alfred.

"None taken." Alfred grunted out as he knocked several rocks down.

"Where did our smelly little friend go?" Gilbert asked, noticing Hassan's disappearance.

"Hmm. Don't know. Don't care." Alfred said.

"Well, he'll find us if he needs us, I guess." Arthur said, poking a spike into the rock and sand trying to loosen it so Alfred could knock it down. "Don't just stand there Gilbert. Help us!"

"Ja." Gilbert said with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Americans were attempting to open the statue's base. Henderson was about to ram a crowbar into the statue when the Egyptologist stopped him. Henderson looked at the man in confusion.

"Seti was no fool," he gave a glance towards the group behind them. "Let's have the diggers open it."

Henderson turned to consider the group of men gathered nervously behind them.

"I think we should listen to the doctor Henderson." Daniels said.

"Yeah, sure." Henderson pulled his crow bar away. "Let's have them open it."

The Egyptologist ordered the men forward. He watched carefully as they tried to easy one of the stones out his long face alight with glee. The workers continued as the Egyptologist urged them on when the stone gave with a hiss.

Loud screams filled the air as the three men were covered with a liquid substance. The Americans flinched stepping away from the men. One of the diggers turned around revealing his melted face. The diggers' skin bubbled and melted off. The Americans screamed at the sight backing up against the wall. The screams ended soon as the diggers fell down dead.

* * *

Hassan crawled along a passageway, one hand in front of him the other holding a short torch aloft. He stood up as the passage widened and looked around. He grinned as he saw a painting of a man bending back with his arms bent and held up.

"What do we have here?" he said, planting the torch down. He leaned closer to the painting and saw that there were several beetle shaped objects encrusted on the man's body.

"Blue gold!" he said with satisfaction. "This will fetch a fine price!"

Hassan popped out each beetle with a pocketknife, stuffing them into his bag.

"One more." he said, before looking back at the rest of the beetles.

"One more." he repeated with a small giggle, reaching up to free another.

Unnoticed by Hassan, one of the beetles fell to the sand. After a moment, it awakened, the fall shaking it from dormancy. The beetle cracked open it's shell and looked around curiously. It turned toward the noise, identifying it as food. Starving, the creature crawled quickly to the warden. The shoes proved to be an obstacle, but it managed to get in through a tear. It crawled into the shoe and climbed up until it reached the junction of foot and leg. It found open skin and began its feast happily.

The warden paused as he felt a sharp pinch from his leg; He felt a burning pain crawl up his leg and started panicking. He grabbed his leg, trying to stop advance of the pain but it continued unhindered. He gave up trying to pull off his pants, and focused on the source of the pain which had traveled to his abdomen. He ripped opened his shirt and saw a small bulge crawling up his stomach. Hassan shouted in panic and tried to slap the thing to stop it from going further. The bulge continued climbing, going up his chest and into his neck. Hassan let out a scream as he felt the thing crawl up to his face and into his brain.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, they cut you open, rip out your guts and they stuffed them in jars?" Alfred said incredulously.

"And they take your heart as well. Oh, and do you know how they took out your brain?" Arthur continued. The three of them were taking a break from digging. Arthur was telling Alfred about mummification while Gilbert was playing with the sand and rocks.

"I don't think that we need to know this." Gilbert said looking up from his rock pile.

Arthur ignored him. "They took a sharp, red hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about a bit, and then rip it all out through your nostrils." Arthur said cheerfully with graphic arm gestures.

"That sounds painful." Alfred remarked weakly.

"It's called mummification; you'll be dead when they do this." Arthur said with a grin.

"For the record, if I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification." Alfred turned to Gilbert as one of the only people not giddy about ripping out organs from dead people.

"Likewise." Gilbert replied before cursing as the pick fell just then, destroying his rock tower and making rocks fly everywhere. He stood up to retrieve the rocks that had knocked against the wall when something large and heavy crashed behind him. The three jumped in surprise but luckily no one was buried underneath whatever fell. The group crept closer as the dust settled to see the item.

"It's a sarcophagus... buried at the base of Anubis?" Arthur murmured.

"Well, he must have been someone of great importance." Arthur said. He looked at the sarcophagus pensively. There was something about it that made the hairs on his neck stand up.

"Or he did something unforgivable." Arthur finished.

He walked closer to the sarcophagus, pulling out a brush from the roll at his side. He brushed off the dust covering the flat tablet that was supposed to hold his name.

"Who is it?" Alfred asked from behind him.

"It says 'He Who Shall Not Be Named'?" Arthur said. "Looks like Harry Potter was famous even in Ancient Egypt."

Gilbert let out a snort. "Well, hope this guy isn't like Voldemort, otherwise we'd be in a whole lot of shit."

Arthur smirked and Alfred leaned closer to the sarcophagus. He blew lightly on the surface, moving the sand away and revealing a sun-shaped depression with spikes coming out of the rays.

"This looks like some kind of lock." Alfred tapped the oddly shaped key-hole.

"Well whoever was in there isn't going to come out." Gilbert said.

"No kiddin'. It'll take a month to crack this open without a key." Alfred replied.

"A key?" Arthur said softly before his eyes widened in realization. "A key! A key!"

"Yeah, that's what we were talking about?" Alfred said hesitantly.

Arthur shot him a glare as he pulled the puzzle box from his bag.

"No! Remember that man? At the ship? He was talking about a key!" Arthur said, stepping close to the sarcophagus. Opening the box with a quiet click, he placed in down on the lock. The shape of the puzzle box key fit the lock perfectly. Arthur looked up at Alfred and Gilbert with a triumphant grin.

He jumped in surprise as a scream rang out. Alfred Gilbert and Arthur ran to the halls and saw the warden run out wailing. He was clutching his head-scratching at it. Arthur stepped closer to him but Hassan shoved him and Alfred out of his way before running head first into a wall. He fell backwards with a thump, the corridors silence stifling after his chilling screams.

Arthur looked at the body cautiously. "Is he dead?" he asked horrified.

"Alright, let's get you out of here." Alfred said, wrapping an arm around Arthur's shoulders and bringing him over to Gilbert. Dead bodies didn't bother Alfred anymore, and he could tell that Gilbert wasn't affected either. The albino was staring at the warden more in surprise but with steady eyes, unlike the shock and horror Arthur was going through. He squeezed Arthur's shoulders comfortingly when he felt Arthur breathe unsteadily. Alfred relinquished Arthur to Gilbert and ushered the two out.

"Go get the stuff and get out of here. I'll take care of it." Alfred said catching Gilbert's eye and moving his eyes towards the body.

Gilbert nodded slightly before leading Arthur away. "Come on Artie, let's get out of here. We got a lot of crap to move and I need a drink."

Alfred turned to the body after the two men were out of sight and bent down. He put a hand to his neck and confirmed what he already knew. The warden was dead. With a sigh, Alfred lifted the dead body up and carried it out. He would have dragged it but the slight enmity he felt for the man disappeared after his death and anyways, he did not want a vengeful spirit to come after him for mistreating its body. Alfred barely suppressed a shiver at that thought.

He took the body out into the desert and gave it a quick burial. By the time he got back to camp, it was dark and fires were being lit.

He ambled over to their campsite where Gilbert and Arthur were sitting and talking quietly. They looked up at Alfred as he climbed over the pile of blankets.

"It looks like we weren't the only ones who were unlucky today." Alfred said as he sat down. Gilbert and Arthur turned to him curiously and Alfred continued. "They lost three diggers. They were, um, melted." Alfred paused as Arthur and Gilbert exclaimed and demanded an explanation. "Yeah, they got hit with pressurized salt acid. That's what one of them said."

"A trap?" Arthur asked from across the fire.

Alfred gave a quick nod, taking the time to give the Brit a glance over. Arthur seemed recovered from seeing Hassan die, but he would keep an eye on him just in case.

"Maybe this place really is cursed." Gilbert said jokingly. He fell silent as a cold wind blew through their camp, making their fire burn low. Arthur shivered and brought up the blankets around him.

"You two believe in curses?" Alfred asked, a grin lighting his face.

"Come on, Curses don't exist!"

"Says you." Arthur muttered.

"Whatever." Alfred rolled his eyes. Curses? Please, Arthur must be crazy to believe in those!

"Well, whatever you two believe in, I believe in being prepared!" Gilbert announced. "Now let's see what our dear friend the warden believed in." Gilbert produced the warden's bag and rummaged around it. He jerked and gave a shout, startling Alfred and Arthur.

"What! What is it?" Arthur asked.

"A bottle!" Gilbert announced, pulling out a bottle of alcohol. "He might have been a smelly guy but he had almost an awesome sense of taste as me. This baby is 12 years old!"

Alfred turned slightly as he heard faint hoof beats and neighs from the American camp. Turning to Gilbert he tossed him his rifle.

"Here, take this. I'm going to see what is going on." Alfred said before running to the main camp.

"What? Hang on, wait!" Arthur said, scrambling up from his nest of blankets and hurrying after Alfred.

"Yeesh. Kids these days." Gilbert said as he leisurely followed Arthur and Alfred to the unfolding chaos.

* * *

**A/N: *Giggles nervously* Hi guys. Its been, hmm around a month? I am so sorry, school started and I finished my reserve of chapters so I wasn't able to do much writing. I hope the longer chapter makes you all happy.  
**

**See you all next week. And please read and review!  
~Kosaji  
**


	8. The Mummy's Curse

**Dislaimer: I don't own Hetalia or the Mummy, I am simply _borrowing _them. **

**Warnings: Some gore. violence. **

**And now SQUEAL AT THE CUTE DRUNK!ARTHUR !**

**Sincerely,**

**Kosaji**

* * *

The camp was in chaos. Masked men, the same as those that attacked the ship days ago, charged in on horseback, attacking the American group. The Americans were running around in panic. Alfred saw Burns came running out of his tent in a pair of trousers and, from the look on his face, was in the middle of shaving. Smirking, Alfred ducked behind a wall and shot a masked man off one of the horses. He was quickly swept into the battle, avoiding weapons and guns from friend and foe alike.

'Good thing only we have guns,' Alfred thought as he ducked underneath the swing of one of the masked men. Just as he jumped away from a burning tent, Burns was next to Daniels and was firing at the masked men together.

Arthur and Gilbert ran to the Americans' camp and slammed behind a wall that was about the height of their waists (courtesy to the albino on doing the slamming on both their parts). Taking a swing of the whiskey, pulled out his shot gun and tossed it to Arthur. The blond grimaced in distaste as the heavy metal offered to him, he preferred more elegant weapons such as swords for fencing and daggers for piercing enemies from a faraway distance. But despite this as he accepted it anyway. Thanks to Gilbert, he knew how to shoot and made the best of the situation, crouching down and taking shots at the passing masked men. Arthur grabbed the whiskey from Gilbert and took a swing, ignoring the self-proclaimed Prussian's pout. Back to the battle at hand, Gilbert pulled up Alfred's rifle and joined in the fray, his aim true despite his slightly inebriated state.

Arthur shot another masked man off his horse when Beni staggered up to him and yanked the whiskey from him. He raised the bottle to his lips but the drink never made it to his mouth. Another masked man rode up behind the three, waving a battle axe. Beni looked at the approaching man in horror, the drink falling to the ground. Arthur pulled a slack-jawed Gilbert away as the masked man rode past them to chase Beni.

"Jones! Jones!" Beni yelled as he ran towards Alfred.

Alfred looked up in surprise at the approaching enemy but holstered his gun. He took a running leap from the steps and tackled the masked man off his horse. They hit the ground hard, the other masked man more so due to his axe falling on top of him. Both of them scrambled onto their feet and grabbed for their weapons at the same time. The man's mask had torn off during the scuffle, revealing green eyes and curly brown hair covering a tanned brow. Alfred dodged just as the man swung his axe at him. Acting fast, Alfred drew his gun and shot him, but was shocked when the brunette used his axe to block it. Even though the shoot loosened the axe from his grip, he quickly recovered and swung the axe towards Alfred's head

Alfred backed up and rolled backwards. Yanking a stick of dynamite from his pocket, he lit it on by a nearby fire and held it up to the approaching man.

The brunette paused in front of him and considered the dynamite explosive in the American's hand. A quick look at the Alfred's eyes showed that he was not bluffing. The man lowered his axe and called to his companions.

"Enough! Enough, mis amigos," a Spanish accent rolled from the man's lips, surprising Alfred. Most of the desert people were local, not from places like Spain. "Enough blood has been shed tonight. We will shed no more. You," he looked at Alfred. "You must leave, immediately. Leave this place or die. This is your only warning."

The man turned away, grabbing the reins for his horse and mounted it. Yelling out to his companions, he led the masked men out of the city.

Alfred stared in confusion as he pulled and discarded the still sparking thread from the explosive. Turning around, he saw Arthur and Gilbert standing a few meters behind him. He hurried over, noticing that both of them seemed paler than usual.

"Hey, you two ok?" he asked.

"Yes, we're all right for the most part." Arthur replied, shooting Gilbert a confused look. The albino had been quiet the entire time, a rarity for Gilbert.

"Gilbert!" Arthur called shaking the other man from his daze. Gilbert shifted his gaze from where the masked men had left to look at Arthur. "Are you alright?" he repeated, large brows furrowed to create a unibrow. At the sight, Gilbert let out a snicker.

"It's nothing," he said when he was under control, and looked around the wreck that was the Americans' camp. The invaders destroyed several of the tents and others had caught fire, but there were still many standing.

"That proves it!" Daniels' exclamation could be heard from where the trio stood. "Ol' Seti's fortune has gotta be under this sand. For them to protect it like this you just know there's treasure down there."

"No, they're desert people. They rather have water than gold any day," Alfred said to him.

Arthur frowned. It was annoying how those guys kept going after them. And also rather worrying. What did they want? And why were they stopping them from excavating Hamunaptra.

"Say Jones," Burns approached them. "Maybe for tonight, we could-ah, join forces?"

Alfred scoffed, but agreed. There was safety in numbers after all. Alfred's group moved back to their own camp once truce was called.

* * *

"So then the other guy..." Arthur trailed off, holding the bottle of alcohol aloft. He blinked in confusion as he looked at Alfred, who had his chin resting on his hand and looking at Arthur in amusement.

"Forgot what you were going to say?" he asked. When Arthur continued to look at him in confusion Alfred made the decision to take the matter into his hand. "Okay! I think you should stop with the bottle now," he gently took the bottle from Arthur's lax grip. When Arthur started to mumble incoherently and reached for the bottle, Alfred sighed and kept the bottle out of the Brit's reach. Instead of pursuing, Arthur climbed onto Alfred's lap and curled up against his chest, making the American blush. Within seconds Arthur fell asleep. Alfred looked down at his flushed face and grinned.

"You know, I don't get you at all," Alfred confided to the drunk man. He pushed Arthur off and laid him down on a nearby pile of blankets. "You don't want the treasure like the rest of the people here, only a book. Jeez, how lame can you get?" Alfred continued while slowly stroking Arthur's unruly hair. "You even got dressed up in that skirt to do it. You really looked like a girl, you know? You'd probably get mad if I told you, but you looked really pretty." His heart seemed to beat faster and his face grew warmer as he remembered that day in the prison.

"I'm just doing this to make us even, you know," Alfred suddenly added, his voice getting harsher. "It doesn't matter if you look cute when you blush or that you are so god damn oblivious that you can't tell when a guy perving on you." At this point, his voice softened, "I'm just in this because you saved my life, all for a book."

Alfred trailed off, hand still carding through Arthur's hair. The other man barely stirred through Alfred's monologue.

"You done moping?"

Alfred jumped in surprise, yanking his hand out of Arthur's hair. He looked at Gilbert cautiously.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

"Pretty much everything.," Gilbert shrugged, turning over on his side to face him from across the fire. "Seriously, Alfred, you can be such a sap. If you like him, just tell him. It's better than flirting with him and stringing him along."

"What?! Wa-wait, I wasn't flirting with him!" Alfred sputtered his face turning a deep red.

Gilbert snorted. "Right, you'd steal tools and play eyeball tag with each other for shits and giggles. You're not fooling anyone here."

Alfred stayed silent. Gilbert rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back.

"Whatever man, it just seems stupid to flirt with the guy if you're not interested. Besides, it's not like there aren't others who think Artie's hot. He could have his pick from any of those.," Gilbert finished before falling asleep.

Alfred stared at him, considering his advice. He relaxed his balled up hands he didn't know he clenched when Gilbert told Alfred of Arthur's suitors.

He frowned. "You know, you really are too much trouble!" he complained to Arthur. Arthur just continued to breathe deeply, completely unaware of his surroundings. Alfred smiled. "What the heck," he exhaled loudly, reaching out to stroke an eyebrow with a knuckle. "You have no idea what you're doing to me, are you?" he asked softly. Arthur made a small noise and curled away from the foreign touch, still fast asleep.

Alfred chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow, won't we?"

Alfred stayed up a little longer, stroking Arthur's hair before following his companions to sleep.

* * *

A loud thunk was heard as the diggers moved a large, decorated box out of the base of the statue of Anubis.

"Careful! Careful!" the Egyptologist cried out as the diggers placed the box on the ground. The diggers moved away from the box quickly, huddling in a corner nervously. They remembered what happened last time something was opened.

The three Americans gathered around the Egyptologist, who brushed off the dirt and dust covering the box.

"There is a curse upon this box!" he whispered, trailing his fingers over the engraved hieroglyphics.

"Curse my ass.," Daniels scoffed.

"Who cares?" Henderson added just as condescendingly.

"Have care, Mr. Henderson!" the Egyptologist interrupted. "In these hallowed grounds, that which was set forth in ancient times is as strong today as it was then."

"Yeah, but what does it say?"

The Egyptologist looked at the symbols with a furrowed brow. "It says here that 'Death will come on swift winds for those who open this chest'."

Immediately after he finished speaking, a wind blew through the enclosed space, disturbing the torches. An unearthly moan rang out, frightening the diggers further. One more gust of wind and the diggers finally lost it, running away and screaming in fear.

"We should not be here," Beni stuttered nervously. He had his gun out and ready, looking around himself anxiously.

The Egyptologist ignored him and continued translating the inscriptions, "It says, 'There is one, the undead, who if brought back to life is bound by sacred law to consummate this curse.'"

"Well let's make sure we don't bring anyone back from the dead then, huh?" Daniels said feeling a little unsettled by the curse.

"'He will kill all who open this chest and assimilate their organs and fluids and in so doing he will regenerate and no longer be the undead but a plague upon the earth.'" the Egyptologist finished, looking at the chest nervously.

"Well? We did come all this way for nothing," Henderson urged them reassuringly.

As the others murmured in agreement, Beni backed away.

"It's the curse," he whispered, getting more uneasy as he repeated the words again. "It's the curse. It's the curse!" Beni screamed and ran away from the Americans and the Egyptologist. "Beware the curse!" his shout echoed through the chamber. The other men listened as his footsteps fading before shrugging.

"Stupid superstitious bastard," Burns muttered lowly as they opened the box. When the lid came off, a cloud of dust hissed and quickly erupted from the crate, obscuring their views for a moment, before they disappeared just as quickly.

* * *

Arthur fitted the open key into its slot on the sarcophagus. Twisting it around, he remarked, "Isn't this exciting? I've been dreaming about something like this for a long time!"

"You dream about dead guys?" Alfred remarked from the other side. He and Gilbert were holding the Mummy up while Arthur unlocked it. Arthur spared Alfred an exasperated look when the lock caught. The lid popped open with a hiss and a foul stench emitted from it.

"Ugh," Arthur chocked out, backing away from the sarcophagus.

Gilbert scrunched his nose up at the smell but pulled on the lid firmly. Alfred joined in and together they heaved while Arthur watched them in anticipation. The lid groaned but it was beginning to give. With one final pull, the lid came off, much to the men's one second delight because they all jumped out of their skin and screamed when smoke billowed out of the sarcophagus and a grotesquely decomposing figure leaped out right in front of Arthur's face.

As much as Arthur was looking forward to this; it gave him the biggest creep the moment he stared into its empty eye sockets. He was in so much shock that he didn't hear Gilbert calling him.

"Arthur? Arthur!"

When he finally snapped out of the daze he was in, Arthur quickly turned to him, just to look away from the corpse. "Yes?"

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Gilbert repeated impatiently.

"Well, no. I've never seen a mummy that looks like this before. He's still, still..."

"Juicy," Alfred and Gilbert said in disgusted unison.

"Yes…He's got to be over three thousand years old, but he's still," Arthur hesitantly turned back to the body, and saw rotting flesh clinging to exposed bones, "decomposing." he finished in confusion. He turned to the lid of the sarcophagus again, curiosity growing in his eyes before he went over to it and turned it over. "Look here, the sacred spells have been chiseled off!"

"Come again?" Alfred asked.

"It means that this man was condemned not only in this life, but the next as well," Arthur explained. "Whatever he did, it must have been terrible. I think we should leave him alone, I have a bad feeling about this mummy."

Alfred raised his brow but nodded. He helped Arthur turnthe lid back over. They began to cover the mummy up again when Gilbert stopped him.

"Hang on a second, look at this," Gilbert pointed to the inside cover of the lid. Alfred and Arthur came over, and gasped at what they saw.

"Dear god, these look like they were carved by," Arthur gulped in midsentence, running his hands down one of the vertical marks. The spacing of his hands matched the groove marks gouged into the stone.

"Finger nails," Arthur finished quietly. "This man was buried alive." His eyes surveyed the marks closely. Drawing in a breath, he whispered, "He also left a message." Arthur trailed a finger over the engraved hieratics, reading the words in a very soft, yet oppressing voice,"Death is only the beginning."

The three men looked at each other uneasily.

* * *

The Americans and Egyptologist approached the box after the vapor settled. The Egyptologist reached into the open box and pulled out a burlap sack. Everyone's eyes were one as the Egyptologist unwrapped it. Their faces, which were full of greed and hunger before, fell in disappointment when the Egyptologist unveiled a black book. He, however, let out a small disbelieving laugh.

"I have heard of this book, but I never truly believed it existed," he said, holding up the book reverently. "This, good gentlemen, is a most priceless treasure."

At this, Henderson kicks the sandy floor in anger. "We didn't come all the way out here for a stinkin' book!" He bellowed as he kicked the floor again, accidentally hitting the box instead. The side of the box gave way, revealing five jars, one of which was broken. The Americans grinned once they saw the gold and jewels embedded in all of them except broken jar.

"Well, gentlemen, there's your treasure," the Egyptologist said dismissively as he tried to open the book. He frowned when the cover refused to budge. "This might be problematic," he muttered, trailing a hand over a cover. He could practically feel the hidden knowledge kept within the book. He re-wrapped it and tucked it under his arm. He accepted the canopic jar as part of his share of the treasure but ignored the gloating Americans.

'Barbarians the lot of them.' He sniffed. 'I have the true treasure, if only I can open it.'

* * *

The two camps had joined together for the night in case of another attack. Beni and Alfred were roasting something over a fire.

"Ugh! What is that?" Gilbert asked as he sat down on the other side of Beni.

The pair grinned as Alfred told Gilbert, "Rat gizzards. They taste and smell bad, but it's the best we got."

Gilbert couldn't hide his disgust, prompting Beni and Alfred to laugh.

The Americans headed over to the fire, carrying their jars with them.

"Say O'Connell, whadaya think these babies'll fetch back home?" Henderson asked as he sat down across from them.

"We hear you gentlemen found yourselves a nice gooey mummy. Congratulations." Burns smirked.

"Ya know if ya dry him out, you can sell him for firewood.," Daniels finished, making the Americans laugh. Alfred just smiled and laughed half-heartedly with them when Arthur walked up, holding something in his hands.

"Look at what I found!" he cried out excitedly.

"You're in his seat," Alfred told Beni. When Beni just looked at him in confusion, Alfred growled. "Move. Now."

Beni moved to the other side of the fire between the Americans and Alfred's group. Arthur sat in the recently vacated space.

"Scarab skeletons! They are flesh eaters. I found them in the sarcophagus."

"Wait, you mean someone buried the guy alive and put these in there with him? And they ate him alive?" Alfred asked incredulously as he held one of the blue scarabs up to the flame.

"Yes, very slowly!" Arthur had everyone's attention. "According to my readings, this man suffered the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved for only the most evil blasphemers. In all of my research, I've never read of this curse actually having been performed," he smiled, unnerving the other men.

"Maybe he got a little frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter," Alfred joked.

Arthur frowned. "It's not funny. They never used it because they feared it so. It's written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise," the corners of his lips slowly curved up as he finished in a very excited tone, "he would bring with him the Ten Plagues of Egypt."

The men look at each other nervously as Arthur cheerfully reached for the meat.

* * *

Later that night, Arthur passed the Egyptologist struggling with the black book. He had heard that the Americans managed to get the Black Book of the Dead, which upset him. He reasoned that it wasn't a total loss. The Black Book existed which mean that there was a good chance that the Golden Book existed as well. He looked curiously at the book, noticing that it had a lock very similar to the one on the mummy's sarcophagus.

Arthur walked over to his bag with a grin. Fishing out the key, he headed over to the Egyptologist. "I think you need a key," Arthur remarked casually, standing in front of the other man.

The Egyptologist looked at Arthur in annoyance. "Thank you for the advice but-"

He was cut off as Arthur opened the key. The Egyptologist noticed the similarity in the shapes of the key and the embedded lock on the book. He looked at Arthur shrewdly.

"It seems we can come to an… understanding?" his eyes fastened on the key.

Arthur smirked and sat down on the cushion the Egyptologist indicated. The other man put the book down, cover facing Arthur. "How did you come by such a possession?" he asked casually.

"My guide found it here. I have already had it authenticated by a curator in Italy. I am not opposed to sharing," Arthur said meaningfully.

The Egyptologist's lips tightened at Arthur's underlying meaning. It would have been so much easier if the man asked for money.

"Sharing is a lovely skill to have, though too much should be avoided."

Arthur smiled. "I don't suppose a copy of the book you have in your possession would be too much? After all, it is worthless unless it can be opened."

The Egyptologist weighed his options. He could refuse the offer and try to open the book without the key and not damage it, or he could take this offer. "The credit for finding the book..." he trailed off.

"Oh, of course it would be all yours! I'm just interested in the contents. Translations happen to be my specialty," Arthur reassured the man.

The Egyptologist smiled. "Then we have an accord Mr…?"

"Kirkland, Arthur Kirkland." Arthur said, shaking hands with the other man. "And you are?"

"Allen Chamberlain," Allen said. "Shall we take a look at the book?"

"Yes of course. Do you mind if I go grab some paper? I would prefer to copy the book by hand as well as take a few photos."

Allen nodded in affirmative and Arthur walked back to his bedroll, a wide grin on his face.

"What was that?" Alfred asked from his spot near the fireplace. He was close enough to see and hear Arthur and Allen talk, though he fixed his gaze back on the fire when Arthur came over.

"That, Mr. Jones, is how to strike a bargain.," Arthur said, pulling out stacks of paper, a piece of charcoal and a digital camera that luckily managed to survive the trip.

Alfred shook his head. "You Brits sure do things differently. I had no idea what you were talking about until the end."

Arthur spared him a smirk before heading back to Allen's tent. He took the book from him and placed it in front of him. He took out the box and quickly opened it again. He aligned the key and lock, and turned it gently. Arthur and Allen watched eagerly as a small click was heard and the claps snapped open. Arthur reached for the cover but was beaten by Allen. He glared but pulled his hand back as the other man opened the book. The two ignored the wind suddenly blowing through the camp as they looked at the carved hieroglyphics on the metallic surface.

Arthur grinned as his eyes roved over the symbols, his hands twitching with the need to touch the book. Allen had no such compunctions and was tracing the hieroglyphics. Soon the Brit grew impatient and coughed to get the Egyptologist's attention.

Allen jerked his fingers, back as if shocked. He looked back at Arthur. "Ah yes, you want to make a copy of this I presume?" he asked.

"Yes, if you won't mind," Arthur reached for the book and gave it a good look over himself. Under Allen's gaze he carefully placed the paper on the first page and shaded it using a piece of charcoal. He worked meticulously through each page, the hieroglyphics blooming on the pages as they were shaded. When he was done he grabbed the camera and took several pictures of each page.

"That should do it," Arthur said as he took the last photograph. He gathered up the papers and stood up. With a nod at the Egyptologist, Arthur turned to leave.

"Wait! What about the key?!" Allen demanded.

Arthur looked back at him. "What about it? You can always block the clasps if you don't want the book to close. Sorry, but this key is mine," Arthur said coolly, leaving an open-mouthed Egyptologist in his wake. "You can always contact me if you accidentally lock it on the way to Cairo." Arthur tossed out; he wasn't completely heartless. Beside, if this key could open the Book of the Dead, there was a chance it could open up the Book of Amun-Ra when he finally finds it!

"That's just cold, man," Alfred said, peaking one eye open when the green eyed man came back. He was now sprawled across the roll, arms crossed behind his head. He opened both eyes to stare at Arthur as he began making a third copy of the book. "I don't get it, I thought the book you wanted was made of solid gold?"

"Hmmm? Yes is it. But this isn't the book of Amun-Ra. This is the Book of the Dead," Arthur said, still tracing out a copy of the page he was working on.

"The Book of the Dead?" Alfred asked incredulously, sitting up straight. "What does that do?"

"Hm? Oh it contains sacred spells for helping souls enter the afterlife." Arthur said, flipping the page over to draw on the other side.

"That doesn't sound too bad." Alfred shifted closer towards Arthur. He grabbed one of Arthur's finished pages. The man could draw fast!

"Well, it's also known for containing spells to bring one back from the dead.," Arthur tossed out casually.

Alfred choked. "B-bring back the dead? Like zombies!" he demanded, eyes wide.

Arthur looked at him dismissively. "Of course not! If you had a dead body, probably. But these spells were not used. It was considered blasphemous to raise the dead from rest."

"Oh." Alfred bowed his head in relief. "Well, it's not like these spells were real of anything, right?"

Arthur paused in mid stroke and looked at him cautiously. "The spells are real, Alfred. It does not matter whether they worked or not but the Ancient Egyptians placed a lot of belief into them. That makes them even more powerful." Arthur stated carefully.

All he got back was a snort, making him twitch.

"Please, spells and curses? All that stuff is just science!" Alfred laughed. Arthur bristled at the American's tone, gripping his pencil tightly. "You don't seriously believe in that stuff, do ya, Artie?" he continued, oblivious to his companion's darkening mood.

When he received no answer, Alfred continued to push the Brit's buttons. "Seriously? Pfft!"

That was the last straw. Arthur grew red and demanded in a loud voice, "Why the hell are you laughing, wanker?!"

"You! Dude, c'mon. Spells and magic don't exist. Now you're going to tell me that you see fairies too," Alfred trailed off disbelievingly when Arthur ducked his head. "You're kidding."

"Now see here! There is nothing wrong with believing in magic and spells!" Arthur snapped, abandoning his work to glare at Alfred. He ignored how his heart clenched when Alfred continued to laughed at him.

"Yeah right! I bet none of those spells even work!" Alfred jibed, pointing at the sheets of paper.

"Of course they do! The Ancient Egyptians wouldn't have sealed and hidden this book if they weren't!" Arthur raged back, his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Oh yeah? Then you wouldn't mind saying one of them. Oh! That's right! It's in Ancient Egyptian so you probably can't read it anyway!" Alfred dared. He was getting frustrated in Arthur. Honestly, _how_ can the guy buy into this magic crap?

Arthur fumed, ruled completely by his anger. Ignoring the warning bells in his head he cried, "Fine! I will!"

Arthur grabbed one of the first pages he copied and read off the hieroglyphics. "Amun Ra. Amun Dei," he cleared his throat and continued, feeling a familiar hum fill his belly.

* * *

Inside the tomb Arthur and the others found, ancient magic was gathering. Called by the power of the speaker, the magic was drawn to the carcass that was most likely to survive the spell. It sunk in to the skin of the mummy, slowly trying to awaken the trapped soul. The magic was confused when only part of the soul responded to the call but continued pulling it out from the Underworld. The soul filled its container, feeling pain and confusion as it was bound in a rotting body. It jerked up and let out an unearthly scream.

The magic left the mummy but a new, darker spell began to take effect. The Mummy was awake, and with it the curse of the Hom-Dai.

The Mummy rose up out of his sarcophagus, feeling weak. His magic was there but useless to him without a stronger body to support it. He growled in anger at his state, and at the ones who did this to him. However, revenge wasn't on his mind.

'Chun-Yan...'

* * *

"NOOO!" Arthur and Alfred jumped when they heard the Egyptologist let out an anguished cry just as Arthur finished reading the spell. They turned around just as he approached them, eyes wide fright as he hollered at the Brit, "You must not read from the book!"

Arthur blinked at him, his mind slowly calming down and beginning to realize what he had done. He turned back to the page, shocked that instead of the spell to raise one of the dead rats Alfred put away for the next day, he used an advanced spell designed to raise one of the strongest warrior in the area. "Oh my god," he paled once he considered the cursed mummy below him. "What have I done?"

"Arthur? Dude, what's the problem?" Alfred knelt down in front of the pale man and shook him slightly.

"Bloody hell."

Alfred looked up at the Egyptologist. The man was staring out into the night. Alfred looked in the same direction as he heard a rumbling sound. His heart seized with dread as the rumbling grew louder, the source of the sound was coming closer. Arthur looked up at the sky as everyone started to wake up from the noise.

A dark ominously humming cloud was seen through the dark, sending people into panic.

"Ok, let's go!" Alfred pulled Arthur up, who shoved his arm away to gather his papers haphazardly and put them into a plastic folder in haste. Alfred grabbed his arm again and pulled him across the camp as the cloud descended on the camp.

"RUN!" someone shouted, he couldn't tell who. Alfred grabbed the rope from the pillar and tossed it to Gilbert just as he caught up to them. The albino jumped down without hesitation, landing hard on the sand. He scrambled up and used his lighter to light a torch as Arthur climbed down, Alfred a second behind him.

"We need to move," Arthur said. His heart was pounding in his ears. He could _feel _the dark magic at work around him. "Before something worse than locusts show up."

"What could be worse?" Alfred groused as he took the torch from Gilbert.

Arthur glared at him. "Were you not paying attention?! Locusts! They are one of the Ten Plagues!"

Alfred scoffed as they moved quickly through the corridors. He paused when his feet stepped on something with a sickening squelch.

Lowering the torch Alfred saw over fifty frogs covering the corridor.

"Next plague, the frogs" he heard Arthur whisper.

Alfred growled, "Let's try that one." He pointed to the opposite corridor they passed back.

* * *

The Americans had the same idea as Alfred and hid in the tombs. They were eager to get away from the locusts after seeing the way they swarmed and ate a group of diggers.

While on the run, Burns tripped in his panic, knocking his glasses off.

"Shit!" he felt around. He heard Beni's whiny voice behind him and called out. "C-can you help me? Where are my glasses?"

Burns was answered by the sound of breaking glass in front of him just as Beni ran away, squealing about bugs. "Oh…" he said dismayed. He climbed up to his feet and tried to feel his way down the corridor. He saw a lit area and half walked, half crawled to it, pausing every time he heard a sound. He looked around the open space, the extra light helping him despite his poor eyesight. Burns paused as he felt a small breeze from behind him.

"Hello? Is someone there?" he called hopefully. He turned around again and saw a faint shape in front of him. Burns smiled, thinking that it was one of the diggers they hired.

"Thank god you found me! I lost my glasses and-" Burns cut himself off when his hands hit the person. Instead of the warmth and firmness of a human being he expected, he felt ice cold, rotting flesh. He trembled in fear and slowly raised his head. He squinted his eyes to see his hands buried in its chest.

The Mummy grinned, sensing that this was one of the cursed men who opened the casket.

Burns screamed along with the Mummy when it opened its mouth.

* * *

Arthur, Gilbert and Alfred ran down the corridors, trying to get away from scarabs that had just broken out of the sand and were now after any living thing they could get. The trio ran out onto a stone bridge, the scarabs right behind them. Arthur ran forward and jumped onto an outcrop of stone while Gilbert and Alfred jumped on the tops of stone pillars, all disconnected from the bridge, safe from the chittering creatures.

Arthur leaned back in relief, trying to catch his breath when the wall behind him suddenly gave. He let out a small squeak that was covered by the sounds of the thousands of small scarabs as he fell into another area.

Alfred watched in disgust as the scarabs quickly traveled across the bridge. The shiny insects looked like a black river with the way they were moving. Finally the creatures crossed the bridge and left. He let out a sigh before looking for Arthur. He saw him jump to the opposite side as he and Gilbert...

"Arthur?" Alfred blinked at where the Brit should have been. "Arthur!" The British man was missing.

Alfred heard Gilbert call out for Arthur as well but he ignored him.. Preoccupied with the fact that Arthur was missing he jumped onto the bridge and up to the space where he last saw Arthur. He dimly heard Gilbert climbing up beside him. Alfred touched the stone, feeling that one part was flat and seemed to be built instead of from the rough rock surrounding the ledge.

"A trap door?" Gilbert asked, feeling the stone wall too. He had come to the same conclusion as Alfred and was feeling around for a switch or a lever that could have been activated by Arthur.

"Yeah, there's gotta be a switch somewhere around here."

"Run you sons of bitches RUN!"

Alfred and Gilbert looked up as they heard the shout. They saw Henderson and Daniels running towards them, one of their diggers just trailing behind along with another wave of scarab beetles.

"Run," was all Alfred said faintly before pushing himself off the rock to jump back on the bridge. He and Gilbert ran to exit when the digger fell behind. Alfred turned around to see if he could help but it was already too late. The scarabs surrounded the fallen, screaming in terror man; and within seconds, the interval when the American saw him thrashing under the swarms of scarabs and hear his weakening gurgled scream, the digger was reduced to skin, bones and rags.

"Let's go!" Gilbert shouted, tugging Alfred along.

* * *

Arthur pushed himself off the floor, dusting his hands and trousers of sand. He looked around nervously. Seeing the white moonlight shining into a space, he walked towards it, hoping to orient himself and get back to the others. He smiled when he saw one of the Americans at the end of the corridor. It was the polite one, Mr. Burns he believed he was called. He could tolerate that man; he wasn't as cocky as Henderson nor as rude and uncouth as Daniels.

"Mr. Burns, am I glad to see you!" he exclaimed, coming up to the man. He didn't really care that the man's back was turned towards him and he was staggering around a bit. "I thought I was completely separated from everyone and now-" Arthur stopped when he turned around to face him, making the Brit let out a short, horrified gasp. Where Burns's eyes should have been, there were only empty sockets with blood gushing out of the fleshy holes which Arthur could see clearly. Backing away shakily, Arthur froze as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Turning around, he let out another shriek as the Mummy he uncovered thrust its face out in front of him. It had a pair of eyes now, a pair the same shade of blue Burns' eyes once were. Arthur let out a small moan of fear as he backed up against a wall, clutching the folder to his chest when the Mummy moved closer to him.

The Mummy squinted with its stolen eyes. It could feel the magic in the human before it. It was the same magic that had awakened him from his prison. He stepped towards the smaller man, making the other whimper low in his throat.

He was interrupted by the appearance of another one of the small creatures. This one was bigger and louder than his summonertoo. The Mummy frowned with what was left of his facial muscles; it did not like loud obnoxious humans.

Arthur wouldn't admit it to anyone, but when he heard Alfred's voice calling his name he felt relief melt through and relax his body.

"What are you doing here, this isn't the best time for hide and go-whoa holy cheese burgers!" Alfred let out when he finally saw the creature keeping Arthur cornered against the wall.

The Mummy stood tall before the pair, coming slightly taller than Alfred, and definitely taller than Arthur. It looked at the two living humans in confusion. It did not like that his summoner was so close to the other man. He looked to the side to see more humans coming. He did not like them too but he could also sense that these humans were the ones that were cursed. He would take their flesh once he takes his summoner. Since the little blond helped him rise he wouldn't mind being the sacrifice for Chun Yan. The Mummy roared at the two, planning to eat the loud one then take the summoner. He was confused when the loud one roared back and he was tossed back violently with a whimper. Whatever magic the other man attacked him with blew apart his side and knocked away his jaw. He faintly heard the other humans running away. He struggled up with his weak body. He would need strength, more than what the first man with the terrible eyesight gave him.

* * *

The group ran out of the tomb blood, pumping in fright. They skidded to a stop once they exited the tomb, stopped by a large group of masked men from yesterday, now leveling guns at them.

"Antonio." Surprisingly it was Gilbert who broke the tense silence.

One of the men came forward, removing the cloth around his mouth. Alfred recognized him as the man who ordered the retreat.

"Gilbert mi amigo, while I would prefer to say that it is good to see you I cannot," Antonio said grimly, green eyes resting on the albino before he turned to his group. "You ignored my warnings, all of you. And now the creature is free and you have doomed us all." Antonio shook his head as if disappointed in them. For one moment, Alfred felt like he was being treated like a small child who was caught eating sweets when his parents told him not to.

"Relax, I got him," Alfred spoke up, leveling a glare at the Spaniard.

Antonio only seemed amused. "The creature cannot be killed by mortal weapons. Whatever you did would have only slightly slowed him down."

Several of the robed men walked forward, carrying Burns between them. They deposited the unconscious man with his comrades who looked at his sunken eyelids in horror.

"You bastards, what have you done to him!" Daniels demanded harshly.

"Nothing, we rescued him when he was left in the tunnels. Now leave, you have all done enough damage," Antonio finished with a small smile.

The group moved cautiously passed the assembled men. Gilbert and Antonio exchanged one more glance and nodded before the two went their ways. The Americans boosted Burns on one of the camels and Henderson climbed up behind him. Daniels and Allen took the other camels and rode out of the city. Arthur, Gilbert and Alfred were only seconds behind them, taking a minute to pack up their camp before hurriedly mounting the camels. No one talked until they were well away from Hamunaptra.

* * *

**Well, you know the drill, read and review please!**

**A HUGE thank you for Singing Maiden who helped me with the writing.**

**Also, I'm going to be updating every two weeks from now on. School has gotten busy and I'm also doing Nanowrimo. So much work so little time! So thanks for understanding!**

**See you in a 2 weeks!  
****~Kosaji**


	9. Time's Running Out

**Hi guys! So, this was actually supposed to be out Friday, but my beta's are MIA, so I'm posting this anyways. Sorry for any mistakes! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

* * *

Beni ran haphazardly through the tomb, the torchlight wavering from his trembling grip. He found himself back where they had uncovered the casket. He turned in circles whimpering all the while, his gun out in front of him for whatever protection it could give him. The weapon however was trembling so hard that Beni was in more danger of accidentally shooting himself. He backed up slowly, feeling calmer when he saw nothing was behind him. His trembling receded to the point where he could hold the gun steady. Beni turned around to come face to face with the Mummy. He dropped his torch in shock; luckily the flames had not gone out. Beni was frozen with his eyes bugged out and slack jawed at the creature in front of him.

He let out a pathetic whimper when the creature let out a growl. He quickly backed up, fingers fumbling with the collar of his shirt. He pulled out a cross and stammered out a prayer. He abandoned it when the creature kept advancing, going through the many items hanging around his neck, from an Islamic sword to a small carving of Buddha. He blessed himself in Arabic, Chinese and Hindi to no avail. The monstrous being was directly in front of him when Beni pulled out his last trinket, a Star of David and prayed in Hebrew. The Mummy paused, considering the trembling man.

"The language of the slaves," He rasped, "I may have use for you."

Beni cowered, covering his head and closing his eyes as the Mummy held his fist in front of him. He opened his hand to reveal gold and jewels. Beni hesitantly opened his eyes when he didn't feel any pain and saw the jewels. Greed warred with fear and won out as Beni gave the walking corpse a short jerky bow.

"My Prince." Beni said shakily.

The Mummy smiled, a disgusting sight as the muscles stretched around his mouth. He showed Beni the other item clutched delicately in his hand.

"Where are the other jars?!"

* * *

"No Alfred we are NOT going after the Mummy! We are getting out of here and let those other men do their job." Arthur said, pulling Alfred's clothes out of his drawers and replacing them in a recently bought suitcase.

"Yeah right, we are. Did you see that thing? If it's still alive, well undead, then we need to stop it!" Alfred pulled the shirt from Arthur's grasp and tossing it on the bed. He slammed the lid of the suitcase shut to stop Arthur from adding more clothes to it.

The group had made it to Cairo and found residence at Fort Byron. There was no form of transportation out of the city so the survivors were stuck there until the next morning. After taking much needed showers and a fresh change of clothes Arthur had begun to pack his bags only to be stopped by Alfred.

"What are we supposed to do?!" Arthur shouted back pacing around the room. "We raised a mummy, one that is after us! LOOK AT WHAT IT DID TO BURNS! And he's going to bring the Ten Plagues to the world, NO ONE is safe! If he could do that what makes you think you can stop him! God I shouldn't have listened to you that night, we caused this mess-!"

Arthur was cut off as Alfred slammed him into the wall. He looked into blue eyes breathing heavily. Arthur flinched away as Alfred brought a hand up. Alfred caught his chin when he tried to look away, forcing him to pay attention to the American. His eyes softened as he gazed down at the emotional Briton.

"You're panicking." Alfred said calmly. He tightened his grip on Arthur's chin when he tried to jerk away. "You need to calm down. Take a deep breath, Arthur. Just _breathe._" Alfred inhaled and exhaled loudly for Arthur's benefit. Slowly Arthur copied him, closing his eyes as he got his breathing under control. They stayed like that for several moments, Alfred's hand moving from Arthur's chin to cup his cheek warmly as a thumb ran soothingly over his eyebrow.

"I did this." Arthur finally whispered, his voice cracking as he dropped his forehead to Alfred's shoulder.

"Shh," Alfred shushed as he enveloped the Briton in his arms. He raised one arm to stroke his hair as the other wrapped around him waist. Arthur grabbed fistfuls of Alfred's jacket, grounding himself. "It was as much my fault as yours." he whispered guiltily into the Brit's ear. "I shouldn't have egged you on."

Arthur remained silent, just breathing in the scent of gunpowder and leather that clung to Alfred.

The pair jumped apart when the door slammed open, revealing shaken Gilbert.

"Gilbert?" Arthur asked as he moved towards the other man. Gilbert just held out a shot glass to Arthur. The Brit gave him a questioning glance before taking the small glass. He looked at the dark red liquid in it and took a hesitant sniff. The faint smell of copper hit the back of his mouth and he lowered the glass in surprise.

"Gilbert, is this-"

"Blood." he said distraught. "I was having some quality beer when it just turned to-" Gilbert pointed at the cup accusingly.

"'And the rivers and waters of Egypt went red and were as blood.'" Arthur recited solemnly as he paled in realization. He turned to Alfred.

"He's here."

* * *

Burns was sitting in a rather comfortable chair. He felt the soft fabric with the tips of his fingers cushioning his body. He heard a figure sit down across from him and looked towards it. It was one advantage of losing his eyes, his other senses heightened. Burns would rather give up the increased hearing and smell, God especially the smell, if he could have his eyes back.

"Mr. Burns, this is Priest Imhotep." Burns heard Beni say. The other man visited him earlier today saying that he felt sorry about leaving him in the tunnels. He said he knew a priest who could help him and Burns was ready to try just about anything at the moment.

"Thank you." Burns tried to say. His lack of tongue garbled his speech and he flushed with humiliation. He tried to reach for the tea set to the right of him but he only managed to knock over the pot almost burning himself in the process.

"That is alright my friend." Beni interrupted taking Burn's arm and setting it back on the chair. Across from Burns, a figure dressed in loose black robes and a black mask sat silently.

"Priest Imhotep would like to thank you Mr. Burns." Burns was going to protest that he was the one who had to thank the Priest but Beni cut him off.

"He thanks you for your eyes... and your tongue. But more is needed. Much more." Beni continued as Burns felt a chill go down his spine. He tried to leave but Beni pushed him back down.

"Now he must take the rest, and complete the curse you and the others invoked." Beni said as Imhotep removed the mask revealing a horrid smile. The Hungarian backed away and ran out the room, an unearthly shriek following him.

* * *

"Alfred slow down! We don't even know where the Mummy is!" Arthur huffed as he hurried after the American. Alfred had marched out of the room leaving Gilbert and Arthur to trail behind him.

Alfred stopped suddenly making Arthur bump into him. Arthur rubbed his nose as he sullenly muttered about rude people underneath his breath. Alfred was looking out the window, frozen by what he saw.

"Mein Gott." Arthur heard Gilbert say. He looked out the window to see hail falling down on the streets, along with flames raining down on the city. Pushing his nose against the glass Arthur could see that the same hail-fire combination was falling over the entire city of Cairo.

Just then Beni came running down the stairs right behind Gilbert. Seeing the trio he tried to turn around but Gilbert had already caught him. Pushing him up against the wall Gilbert called to Alfred.

"Hey, Jones! I got a friend you might want to meet."

Alfred smiled darkly as he cocked his gun. "Beni! What a nice surprise!" Alfred was interrupted by an echoing scream from above him. He looked up, and then at Beni before letting the man go with a disgusted sneer. He followed Gilbert and Arthur who were already at the top of the stairs.

"Bloody hell!" he heard Arthur shout as he caught up with the two. Pushing past them he saw a shrunken and withered corpse on the ground, the eyeless head staring at the trio in the doorway.

"Just like the Americans said, assimilate all organs and fluids." Arthur said shakily. Alfred barely heard him more focused on the figure near the bookshelves across the room.

"We got a problem." Alfred said wide eyed. Arthur and Gilbert followed his gaze and stared in horror.

The Mummy jerked and shuddered as muscle reformed and a new layer of skin grew over it. It let out another unearthly wail as the skin fully formed around his figure. It turned around to confront the intruders with another roar of anger.

Alfred pulled out his guns and shot at the approaching Mummy. He kept on shooting even when the Mummy showed no sign of stopping. Gilbert pulled out a lighter and a grabbed the small complementary can of air spray and signaled the other two to move back. Gilbert lit the lighter and held the bottle behind it waiting until the Mummy came closer. When It was in range he pushed the button shooting flames at the Mummy. It roared in rage and pain as the newly formed skin melted away to muscle and bone in some parts. It knocked the lighter away from Gilbert as he relaxed his finger on the air spray. Now defenseless, Gilbert looked up wide eyed as the Mummy picked him up and threw him back, making him fall into Henderson and Daniels who had just ran into the room. Alfred tried to punch him, connecting with It's jaw but his hand had gotten lodged inside the Mummy's mouth instead. The skin around the mouth disintegrated as Alfred pulled back with a grossed out "Ewww!"

The Mummy only got angrier and kicked Alfred into the pile of men, knocking them all down just as they managed to recover from getting bowled over by Gilbert. Satisfied, Imhotep turned to the true object of his attention. Arthur back away as Imhotep walked towards him. He jumped when his back hit the wall and trembled as It walked right up to him, the smell making him gag.

"You have saved me from the undead. For this I thank you." The Mummy said with a grotesque smile.

"W-who are you?" Arthur replied in Ancient Egyptian.

The Mummy's smile widened when he heard the familiar sounds of his language. "You speak my language. I am... Imhotep. High Priest of the Pharaoh." Imhotep said after a pause. Arthur breathed shallowly through his mouth desperately trying to think of a way out of the situation.

"You shall come with me." Imhotep decided. "You shall help me bring back what was mine, and I will reward you with immortality."

Arthur looked at the Mummy in disbelief. He pushed himself back into the cool stone, slumping down slightly. "I-I am sorry, but I think I will have to politely decline." Arthur managed to stutter out. He let out a yelp as the Mummy's smile slipped into a confused frown and then an angry sneer. Before he could do anything, a small meow was heard before a jarring noise rang through the room. Imhotep looked behind him to see the source of the racket and saw a white cat walking over the keys on the piano near the fallen pile of men. He let out a gasp, raising his arms as if to shield himself from the small animal. Imhotep quickly spun, letting out a roar as he transformed himself into sand, the process more painful without his full powers. In seconds he was gone.

Arthur slumped to the ground, eyes still staring at the space the Mummy occupied. Alfred quickly ran over and kneeled down in front of him.

"Arthur! Arthur!" Alfred shook his shoulders gently. Arthur's eyes snapped to Alfred face, whole and completely human. "You ok?" Alfred asked, helping the other man up.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. But we have a lot more to worry about than we thought." Arthur replied looking past Alfred to where Daniels and Henderson were huddled over the corpse of their friend. Alfred turned as well and grimaced in agreement.

"Shit, shit! This is nuts, man!" Henderson tangled his hand into his blond hair. "And that things gonna come after us too!"

"We need some answers, there's too much going on for us to figure out." Arthur said. "I'm going to the museum, there should be some mention of Imhotep in their libraries."

"Imhotep?" Alfred asked.

"His name." Arthur replied with a quick glance.

"What, now you know his name?"

"He told me his name before he tried to KIDNAP ME!" Arthur replied heatedly. He stalked out the door, the rest of the group following him. "Come on! We need to move while he is still weak!"

Arthur managed to fit everyone into a rented jeep before driving down to the Museum of Antiquity. Once there he leaped out and hurried into the Museum. The other men followed curiously, they seemed to be the only ones at the museum even though it wasn't close to closing time.

"Who're you looking for?" Gilbert finally said after the others nudged and hissed at him too afraid to challenge the angry blond themselves.

"The curator, or at least the library! There is bound to be some information-" Arthur turned the corner to an unexpected sight.

"You!" he said to Terrance Bay who was standing with the Spaniard from Hamunaptra.

"Mr. Kirkland," Terrance acknowledged the green eyed man. "Gentlemen." he nodded towards the others.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur demanded.

Terrance gave him a condescending look. "Do you really want to know or would you rather shoot us?"

Arthur looked over his shoulder in confusion and jumped when he saw that each man behind him had a gun drawn out and pointed towards the curator and Spaniard. Luckily he was not in any of their way.

Alfred clicked the safety back on his gun before stowing it away.

"I just saw a mummy eat another person, I'm willing to go on a little faith." He said tucking his hands into his bomber jacket. Slowly the other men stowed their guns away.

"You will not believe us." Antonio warned, leaning back against a chair.

"Kesese. We raised a mummy Antonio, there's not a lot we won't believe at this point." Gilbert smiled sharply.

Antonio raised his hands in the air as if to say "well I warned you" before motioning the group into a small office. The walls were a rich cream color highlighted by a tasteful brown sofa and high backed chairs. Terrance urged the group forward taking a chair for himself. Antonio stood next to him while the others spread out across the room.

"We are part of an ancient society, one that existed in the times before Seti I called the Medjai. In those times the Medjai were the Pharaoh's holy warriors, charged with protecting him. For four thousand years we have been charged with protecting the City of the Dead and preventing the Cursed Priest Imhotep from rising." Terrance explained. He looked over at Arthur. "It was unfortunate that you did not take the warnings to heart."

"Warni- You mean YOU sent those men after us!" Arthur jumped up in anger.

"Si. But you set the creature free. It was the very reason we have people who will take care of troublesome people like you." Antonio answered the Brit.

"Take care of? You think killing people is justified?" Alfred demanded, remembering all the times the Medjai attacked them and how many times each of them was in danger of being killed. Beside him Gilbert nodded.

"Not awesome Toni, not awesome at all."

Antonio looked away from the albino's judgmental gaze.

"You two know each other?" Henderson cut in.

Gilbert gave the blond a sideways look. "We grew up together. It's been years since I last saw him though" Gilbert shrugged at the open mouths of his friends.

"Ok, let's cut to the chase." Alfred broke the awkward silence. "Why is he afraid of cats?"

"Cats are the guardians of the Underworld, he would be afraid of them until he is completely regenerated. By then he will have his full powers back, and become unstoppable." Terrance said somberly.

"H-he said he wanted to bring back something that was his." Arthur said apprehensively tugging his collar. "He wanted my help to do it."

Antonio and Terrance exchanged glances, one worried the other excited.

"Bring back what was his... He might be going after Chun-Yan!" Terrance looked up and saw the confused faces before explaining. "Chun-Yan was Imhotep's lover. If he is still in love with her he might try to bring her back to life as well."

"Well that's romantic but what does that have to do with me?" Arthur asked testily.

Antonio gave him a pitying look. "For the ritual he would need a human sacrifice... and it seems he has already chosen one."

Arthur gaped at the Spaniard as Gilbert and Alfred tensed.

"Bad luck dude." Daniels said, he flinched as Alfred Arthur and Gilbert glared at him making him recoil defensively. "What?"

"Not necessarily. This might give us enough time to defeat the creature." Terrance said.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. His powers are growing." Antonio said gravely eyes focused above on the skylight. Arthur followed his gaze and paled as a dark circle slowly moved forward covering the sun.

"And he stretched forth his hand to all the heavens and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt." Arthur pressed his lips together tightly.

* * *

The five returned back to the Fort, Antonio had given them his phone number in case they needed to be contacted in an emergency but otherwise treated them like a nuisance. It was infuriating to the men but they had no other choice but to accept it. All of them but Alfred and Gilbert were hunted by the creature and the farther they stayed away from it the better. Of course that didn't _stop_ the stubborn men.

"First things first, we can't let him continue to regenerate. Who opened that chest?" Arthur paced. The five moved to one of the suits offered at the fort, preferring to stay in one room than spread out.

"Well there's me and Henderson - and Burns of course. Oh there's also the Egyptologist guy!" Daniels offered from his seat.

"What about Beni?" Alfred asked leaning against the open window.

"Nah, he scrammed before we opened it. He was the smart one." Henderson snorted.

"Yeah, that's Beni." Alfred muttered pushing off of of the window.

"W-well we need to find Allen and get him back to safety before Imhotep gets to him." Arthur twisted his fingers together absentmindedly.

Alfred raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it with you and knowing everyone's name?" he asked. He spoke again as Arthur opened his mouth indignantly. "You three come with me." He pointed to the Americans and Gilbert. "You-" he looked at a expectant Arthur, "are staying here."

Alfred turned around as a canopy of noise erupted behind him. Arthur was protesting being left behind while Henderson and Daniels were squeamish about being out in the open. Gilbert was the only one who hadn't said anything, just getting up and following the other blond.

Alfred turned around with a dark smirk shutting up the two Americans. Arthur however ignored it and got in Alfred's face.

"Just because there's a bloody Mummy after me does not make me a liability you know!" Arthur would have continued but Alfred had enough of the Brit.

So he kissed him.

Arthur's eyes widened when he felt the bruising pressure on his lips, staring back at Alfred's bright blue eyes. He jumped as he slipped a hand around his waist, pulling Arthur right up against him. Alfred pulled back looking satisfied at the other man's dumbfound expression before scooping him up easily and taking him to the bedroom. This knocked Arthur out of his stupor and he kicked and swore at the American as he was placed gently on the bed. He fell silent as Alfred slung a leg over his hip, straddling him and gazing down at him hungrily. He leaned down close to him, hand clutching soft blond locks to Arthur still.

"Shut up." Alfred whispered hotly against Arthur's lips before kissing him again, slipping his tongue in before Arthur knew what was happening. It was a slower kiss but no less passionate. Arthur just began kissing back when Alfred moved away with a wet sound, staring in satisfaction at glazed green eyes and red lips of the man under him. Arthur blushed heavily slightly panting as he looked up at Alfred.

"Stay here." He ordered staring at the green eyed male until he nodded dazedly. He smirked before getting off the bed, giving the Brit a quick kiss before heading out of the room. Arthur sat up staring soundlessly after Alfred, a hand pressed against his swollen lips and turning red.

"He doesn't leave this room." Alfred motioned to the blushing Brit behind him giving Henderson and Daniels a warning glare. The two nodded quickly, cowed by the other man.

"You done saying goodbye lover boy?" Gilbert drawled from the doorway, a smug grin on his face. Alfred ignored him, face flushing slightly before marching out the door, Gilbert following soon after.

Arthur snapped back to reality when the door closed and realized that he was staring like a lovesick girl. He looked at the two blushing Americans before turning an even deeper red and huddling under the thin blanket.

"I wanna die, IwannadieIwannadieIwannadie..."

"Let's just give him some privacy..." Henderson said closing the door to the bedroom.

"Yeah, sure." Daniels said as he sank onto the cushioned chair keeping an eye on both the window and door.

* * *

The streets of Egypt were dark and cold. The sun was fully eclipsed, frightening the people of Egypt into staying in their homes, safe and away from any possible danger.

Safe.

Allen snorted at the thought. He knew he was in danger. Knew it the minute the skies turned to fire and the water to blood. He hurried down the street, trying to find his way to his office. His attempt to find a way out of the country proved fruitless and now all he wanted to do was get out of the open. He headed into the bazaar planning to hide in his nearby office.

He turned around when he felt a pat on his head, looking up at a robed figure in annoyance when it removed the metal mask.

He didn't even get the chance to scream.

* * *

Alfred and Gilbert drove over to the Egyptologist's office, given the address by Henderson.

"So, you finally made up your mind?" Gilbert asked casually as he weaved the car through the streets. He grinned as Alfred began to blush. "Nice kiss by the way. Is randomly kissing boys before going into danger a habit of yours?"

Gilbert said the words lightly, but Alfred heard the hard edge hidden underneath the joking facade. He propped his head on his fist, leaning on the door, thinking before he answered.

"No. I like Arthur, and maybe if we get through this I'll ask him out properly." he said decisively.

"Good man." Gilbert said as he pulled up to the building. "If ya said something otherwise, I might have had to kill ya! Kesesese!"

"Hahaha." Alfred laughed nervously along with Gilbert.

The two jumped out and hurried up the stairs to the office. They froze outside when they heard drawers being opened and an annoyingly familiar whimper.

Beni was rifling through the Egyptologist's desk looking for the Book. Any money or expensive trinket he uncovered found their way into his various pockets. He just reached for a stack of folders when he was lifted and slammed against a wall.

"Well, lookie here." a rough voice sneered. Beni hesitantly opened his eyes to see blazing blues as Alfred pinned him with a hand to his collar. "Looks like you made a new friend Beni!"

"I- I don't know what you are taking about!" he struggled.

"Shut up! What were you looking for you rat!" Alfred tightened his grip on the other man's throat.

"You know, I don't think you have any balls at all. Why don't we get rid of them since they're wasted on you." Gilbert chuckled darkly, twirling a sharp dagger between his fingers. Beni paled and gave in quickly.

"The b-book! The Book of the Dead! And the jar." he added quickly when he saw Gilbert and Alfred's eyes narrow threateningly.

"Check and see if you can find the Book." Alfred ordered still glaring at Beni and Gilbert nodded and started sorting through the mess.

"So, what's in it for you?" Alfred asked. He continued when Beni stayed silent. "Come on, Beni. I know you; you don't do anything unless you get something out of it. Why are you helping the creep!"

Beni licked his lips before choking out. "It's better to be at the right hand of the Devil... than against him. As long as I work for him, I am immune."

Alfred loosened his grip in confusion. "What do you mean immune?"

Alfred was cut off by a loud scream. He lost focus and Beni took his opportunity to flee, kneeing the other man between the legs and taking off as Alfred groaned in pain.

"Shit, Alfred get over here!" Gilbert called from the window. Alfred growled but managed to straighten himself up. Good thing Beni had terrible aim otherwise it would have been his balls that got hit, not the gut. He peeked out the window to see a large crowd of people gathered around a fallen figure.

"Is that-?" Alfred asked taking a closer look.

"Yeah." Gilbert said grimly.

Down on the ground two stories below them was the shriveled up corpse of the Egyptologist. Bending over him was a tall figure in black robes. Alfred and Gilbert watched silently as the figure picked up the canopic jar from the corpse's hands before turning around. Almost as if he knew they were watching, Imhotep raised his eyes to meet theirs.

He had regenerated even further. His face was mostly intact apart from his mouth and part of his cheek. Imhotep smiled at them before opening his mouth wide. They stared as the mouth opened wider and wider until the jaw was around the level of his neck. Imhotep breathed out unleashing a swarm of flies, aimed straight at the two at the window.

Gilbert and Alfred slammed the window shutters and braced themselves against it as the flies collided with the wood.

"Damn, that's two." Alfred panted, "The other guys are the only ones left."

"Then he's going after Arthur." Gilbert said grimly. The two ran out the door and to the car as fast as they could. When they exited the building they were alarmed to see that Imhotep was gone, though the crowd remained.

"Shit, we need to get back NOW!" Alfred fumed slamming his foot on the accelerator.

* * *

Back at the fort, Henderson and Daniels were sitting idle at the table.

"Damn it!" Daniels cried as the grandfather clock struck 10. "I can't just sit here! I'm going to get a drink!" he declared.

"Sure, whatever." Henderson said, polishing his gun. "Hey, could you get me bourbon?" he called out to Daniels as he left the room.

Daniels gave him a quick nod before disappearing out the door.

Henderson let out a small scoff at the other man's nervousness when the door behind him creaked open. He leaned back and saw Arthur peeking out the door curiously.

"I heard something about a drink?" he asked. The Brit had changed into his nightclothes, a large faded plaid tee shirt with the plaid pajama bottoms.

"Yeah, Daniels went down to get some, wanna join us when he gets back?" Henderson offered.

Arthur nodded. "Yes, that sound fine., though I actually came here to ask you for something."

"Oh?" Henderson raised a brow. "Well, whatever I can do to help." he said, getting to his feet.

"Oh, good. Just give me a moment to get my things." Arthur smiled and turned back into his room.

"Take your time." Henderson called, walking around to stretch his legs.

He headed over to the open window, taking a quick glance out. Not seeing anything in the darkness, he turned away only yell as a gust of wind and sand flew at his back. The unnatural wind lifted him up into the air and curled around his body ominously. He tried to shout for help but his breath was knocked out of him. He felt pain rip through him as the whirlwind pulled flesh apart from bone yet somehow keeping the skin intact. If he could describe it, he would say that it felt like someone stuck a straw into him and sucked out his insides. Mercifully he fell unconscious.

Arthur rushed back out when Henderson shouted but was too late. The man was already suspended in the air, his body contorting in pain. Arthur watched in horror as his body twisted once more before collapsing on itself.

The whirlwind dropped Henderson and twisted even faster, curling on itself and coalesced into a familiar figure. Arthur shook as Imhotep appeared in front of Henderson's corpse. His body was almost fully regenerated showing an enormous bald man with pale skin. Imhotep turned around, his black robes opened in the front revealing smooth chest packed with hard muscle. Arthur shook his head sharply. Now was not the time to be check out a homicidal mummy!

Arthur ducked back into his room, shutting the door quietly and locking it. He tried to calm his breathing which he could barely hear over the beating of his heart. He bent down and peeked out of the keyhole and saw a purple eye staring right at him.

Arthur jump back with a strangled shout. His eyes widened when he saw sand start to fall in through the keyhole. Panicked, Arthur stuffed one of his handkerchiefs into the space. He choked when the handkerchief was flung back and scrambled to the far corner of the room.

He looked in horror as more sand spilled into a neat pile at the bottom of the door before twisting and changing into the imposing form of Imhotep.

The Mummy smiled at Arthur as he walked up to him. Arthur shoved himself further up against the wall, wishing desperately for some more space between him and the undead. Imhotep smiled at the terrified blond, a dark aura curling around him making the air feel heavy.

"Come, you will help me." he commanded.

Arthur took a minute to translate what the Mummy had said before asking carefully in Ancient Egyptian.

"Help you with what?"

The Mummy seemed pleased with Arthur, his overbearing aura receding somewhat.

"You will help me. Help me bring her back."

"You mean your lover?" Arthur ventured straightening against the wall. He willed himself not to shake as the space between the two shrunk.

"Yes." the Mummy waited for the man to answer. He didn't understand; it was not a difficult choice.

Arthur gulped as he felt the Mummy's aura grow menacingly. He was getting impatient and Arthur was running out of ways to buy time.

"Hey! Get away from him!"

Imhotep whirled around to see the other obnoxious human behind him, a silver haired man following. He glared at the man before turning to Arthur, intending on taking the man by force.

"Heads up!" Gilbert called, tossing a white cat towards the duo.

The cat landed on Imhotep's head, struggling to find purchase as the skin deteriorated with the contact. The cat leapt off the Mummy and into Arthur's arms. Imhotep let out a shriek of fear when he saw what Arthur was holding and immediately turned into the sand whirlwind and escaped.

Arthur let out a breath of relief, petting the large cat between its ears. The cat purred, nuzzling into the affectionate gesture. Arthur turned to the others only to be crushed into a firm chest. The cat struggled out of Arthur's arms as Alfred held him tightly. He relaxed into the hold and burrowed into the warmth, bringing his arms up to return the hug.

"You ok?" Alfred asked, pulling away to inspect the other man. Arthur nodded holding back disappointment at being pulled away from the warmth.

"I'm fine; he just managed to corner me when you came in."

They jumped when they heard a sharp crash and turned to see Daniels gaping at the withered corpse of Henderson, the bourbon he asked for spreading out through the broken glass on the floor.

"Wha- but-I was-"

Gilbert grabbed the man by his shoulders and took him aside. Arthur didn't hear their hushed conversation but after they returned, Daniels had a furious glint in his eye.

"We need to go, Arthur get dressed." Gilbert ordered.

Arthur looked at the albino confused. "Why? Where are we going?"

"Back to the museum, we're better off with Antonio than alone."

Arthur's eyes widened in understanding and he strode over to his desk, grabbing a few papers.

"I also have something to show you." Arthur said walking over to the men. "I was looking over my notes about the Black book, and it seems as if the curse can be reversed."

"Really?" came three excited voices.

"Yes! The Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra, or the Book of the Living are part of a set. Their powers cancel out the others, that's why they were hidden away in different locations."

"So if we find the Book of the Living-" Daniels started.

"We can put the Mummy down for good." Alfred finished.

"Exactly." Arthur said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the museum and see if they know where to find the book!" Gilbert exclaimed.


	10. Things Get Worse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or The Mummy**

* * *

Antonio, Alfred, Gilbert and Daniels followed Arthur and Terrance to the stone slabs that should tell them where the Golden Book was hidden. Arthur was in the middle of searching a large tablet when they heard a loud bang.

Antonio left to check on the disturbance.

"It is probably just some of my men." he reassured the others, "One of them is known for being clumsy." He winced when he heard loud crash and quailed under Terrance's pointed glare. "Make that very clumsy. I'll be back."

With that Antonio left the others to their work. He strode down the hallway quickly his long cloak swishing around his long legs. He recognized Feliciano's, the Italian boy he used to babysit and who now works for him, voice and hoped he didn't break anything.

"Bohyoo~ He reminds me of Lovi sometimes." he said to himself, thinking of the second child he baby-sat for. Feliciano's older sister had apparently run away from home when she turned 18, and only contacted her family through email.

Antonio frowned at the thought of the girl. He tried finding her when he got news that she ran away but never found her. Only the monthly emails to her brother reassured them that she was even alive.

He shook his head. Lovina was probably far away from here and he had to focus on making sure that the Creature was destroyed.

"Antonio."

He looked to the right to see a tall broad shouldered man walking quickly alongside him. Bright green eyes flicked over to light blue ones in acknowledgement.

"Ludwig." Antonio nodded. "Did Feliciano wander off again?"

Ludwig sighed. "Ja, I only let him out of my sight for one moment. I thought he might have been hungry and went looking for a kitchen."

Antonio let out a small laugh before jumping as a panicked screech echoed.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig exclaimed before running down the hall, Antonio following just a second later.

Lovina ducked in the alley, avoiding the large amount of people-zombies that were suddenly taking over the streets.

She had made the trip to Cairo around six in the evening on the last flight into the city before the airlines shut down for some reason. She managed to situate herself at a nearby hotel before heading out to find Arthur despite the late hour. She had searched for several hours, tired and hungry.

She remembered absently flicked aside a bug as she stomped down the street, avoiding the people screaming in the large crowded bazaar. That was when **they** started appearing.

Twenty minutes later Lovina noticed several people just lying on the street. When she approached one of them she was shocked to see boils on their fever flushed faces. She screamed and ran away when one of them lunged for her.

She had a bad feeling about the people wandering the roads. They looked possessed, eyes blank as they continued walking slowly to who knew where.

Lovina bit her lip. When she got the call from Arthur to stay at home, she couldn't help but worry. After a few hours working herself up, she bought a ticket to Cairo. If Arthur was going to get into trouble, then it was up to her to get him out of it. Now, looking at the hoard of people walking to who knows where (they even had torches!), Lovina swallowed her fear and walked among them, pretending to be one of them. Luckily, none of them seemed to notice her. She repeated the word they were all chanting, a small shiver going up her spine for no reason.

"I-Imhotep. Imhotep." Lovina repeated. She recognized the road they were on, it led to the local museum she passed when she first left the hotel. Lovina inwardly scoffed. Of course Arthur was going to hide in a museum. Lovina broke ranks quickly, running down the sides of the street as fast as she could. She was never more grateful for her speed as she ran past all of the zombies. She managed to reach the door of the museum meters before the first group. She yanked open the door and shut it quickly behind her, panting for breath. She looked around the main lobby quickly and headed for the stairs. She wanted as much space between her and the zombies as possible. Lovina ran up to the stairs, shrieking when she came face to face with a figure dressed in all black. The figure shrieked back, a stray copper curl bouncing slightly in the air comically and began pleading in Italian to spare him.

Lovina clutched her heart and stared openly at the man prostrating himself before her.

"F-Feli?"

The man paused in his crying and looked up at the woman in surprise.

"Veh? Veh! Lovina!"

Antonio and Ludwig ran towards the stairs where they heard the shrieks. They stopped; dumbfounded when instead of finding Feliciano being attacked by zombies they saw him smothering a young woman. Said woman was cursing back at him making the other man to cling tighter and chatter back in Italian.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig had finally found his voice. 'Get off her!' was what he wanted to say but he let out a cough instead.

Feliciano jerked back from Lovina at Ludwig's voice. Smiling happily he waved at two men.

"Big Brother Antonio! Look its sorella!" Feliciano called happily.

"Lovina?""Sister?" Antonio and Ludwig chorused incredulously.

"Anto- Tomato-bastard?!"

"Language, Lovina." the long familiar words slipped out from Antonio unconsciously as he struggled to process the impossibility in front of him.

This couldn't be the little girl he took care of! But one look at that scowl convinced him. Well, that and the memorable 'tomato-bastard!'.

Antonio's thoughts were cut off by a loud pounding on the door. The four looked at the door apprehensively.

"Lovina," Antonio whispered. "Did you see anyone before you came in?"

She nodded hesitantly, clutching her bag nervously. "Zombies chanting a name with boils on their faces. There was whole group of them heading towards here."

Antonio cursed. "Come on!" He hissed, motioning towards the stairs, we need to move, now!"

Lovina opened her mouth the protest and demand he tell her what was going on but Feli grabbed her arm and dragged her with them upstairs.

Lovina stared at her younger brother's hand on hers. It was bigger now, her hand completely covered by calloused fingers. He was stronger, too. She used to remember a time when she could terrorize the little boy with a single glare but now she could feel the strength in his arms as he pulled her behind him.

"What's going on?" Lovina finally said as they were brought into a room filled with stone tablets. Looking around her eyes caught a flash of silver and zeroed in on Gilbert and Alfred standing behind Arthur. The blond man was trailing his fingers over a stone tablet while the other two waited impatiently, both armed with guns, though Gilbert managed to procure a sharp sabre which he strapped to his waist.

"Ve~" Feliciano looked at Antonio and Ludwig hesitantly before breaking out in a wide smile. "We are going to kill a mummy!"

"...che diavolo?" _(The hell?)_

"Feliciano!" The large German scolded. He couldn't just give out information to civilians like that!

"But Ludwig!" Feliciano whined. He looked over at Antonio for support. The brunette sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Leave it Ludwig." Antonio ordered. He didn't like getting others involved either, but they couldn't just leave her here.

Antonio reached into the pocket of his black pants when his phone buzzed and read the text.

"Terrence has the jeep out. All of us should be able to fit on it." Antonio gave Lovina a considering look. She was slim, he noted as he scanned her body. She should fit if they all squeeze in.

"What are you looking at, pervert?" Lovina snarled as she crossed her arms across a rather ample chest, Antonio was quick to notice. "Well?!"

"Nothing!" Antonio chirped. "You grew up a lot Lovina!"

Lovina grew red at the compliment, before she realized that Antonio's attention was not on her face, but her body.

"_You perverted bast_-"

"Found it!" Arthur cheered suddenly, making Antonio breathe a sigh of relief as Lovina switched her attention to the Brit. Arthur stumbled up on legs were numb from the constant kneeling. He looked over at the trio by the door only to pause when he saw an increase in their number.

"Lovina? What are you doing here?" he asked bewildered.

"No time to catch up." Gilbert cut in. "They're trying to crash in."

No one needed to ask who they were. Antonio turned to Arthur.

"Where is the book?"

"Under the statue of Koz-us." he replied promptly.

"That's east of the statue of Anubis." Antonio murmured. "Let's go before they manage to break through the door."

A loud crash made everyone jump.

"Too late, RUN!" Alfred pushed Arthur forward while Arthur grabbed Lovina's arm at the same time, propelling the two out the door. The group ran down the second set of stairs and to the back of the museum just as the door gave way and the legion of sick that made up of Imhotep's impromptu army flooded the museum

Terrence gave them a wave from the jeep, and the men and lady ran as quickly as they could to it. Once in the jeep they drove off, but not before they heard a voice scream out.

"IMHOTEP! They are escaping!" Beni shouted, pointing at the back of the jeep

Alfred cursed as he glared at the retreating figure on the museum steps. That guy was like a cockroach, always coming back.

Arthur also looked back, but his gaze was focused on the imposing man he could see staring down from the window.

He flinched in pain when sharp nails dug into his arm. He looked down to see Lovina glaring at him, squished between himself and Alfred at the back.

"Explain. Now."

Arthur took a breath. "Well you see..."

xXxXxXx

Ludwig drove through the streets carefully with his headlights dimmed. He was thankful that Feliciano and their guest was keeping quiet, though Feliciano initially put up a fight when he wasn't allowed to drive. Ludwig held back a shudder. His boyfriend was a frightening driver, and would bring too much attention to them if he drove.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano warned. Ludwig hit the brakes harshly, jerking the car to a stop. In front of him were a legion of boil-stricken men and women. Bile rose up in his throat when he realized that he also saw a few children among the masses.

Looking at them he realized he had no choice. "Hold on." he growled before stomping on the pedal.

The car shot through the crowd, many of them moving out of the way but some still were run over.

"Move out of the way!" Ludwig shouted at he punched a man, still managing to keep a hand on the wheel. He felt Feliciano rise from his seat next to him and raise his assault rifle. He heard shots being fired above his head as he sped up.

Finally seeing the crowd thin, Ludwig sped up even further. He made a surprised noise when the jeep wouldn't move further. Letting out a frustrated grunt he pumped the accelerator but the jeep wouldn't move forward.

"L-Ludwig!" Feliciano whispered furtively.

Looking up he paled at the tall figure standing right in front of their jeep.

Imhotep smiled at the pair before lifting his hand. The crowd, which Ludwig belatedly realized wasn't thinning but was gathering behind them, blocking their escape. They charged the vehicle, pulling Ludwig and Feliciano off. They tried to fight them off the best they could, Ludwig managing to knock out several of the boil covered men but they were eventually subdued.

Forced down on their knees with their hands held behind their backs they watched in frustration as they ripped off the blanket covering Daniels.

The dark haired man tried to fend the other off, shooting them down with his guns until he finally ran out of bullets. He looked around wildly, seeing Ludwig and Feliciano captured and the army surrounding him, staying just out of reach. He turned to run only to come face to face with the one thing he didn't want to see.

Ludwig closed his eyes as Daniel's screams rang through the streets.

The screams cut off abruptly, leaving a heavy silence. Ludwig grunted as he was tossed to the ground. Opening his eyes he saw Feliciano shuffling over to him. Pushing himself to a kneeling position he turned towards the Italian when a shadow covered him.

Slowly turning his head his eyes met the darkly amused ones of the Creature.

Imhotep flexed his newly regenerated hand absently as he looked down on the two Medjai. He smirked as the blond one pulled his companion slightly behind him, as if he could protect the sniveling weakling!

Ludwig suppressed a growl. His plan had been for nothing! Now the monster will hunt down Arthur and there was nothing they could do to stop it! Ludwig felt Feliciano's hand slip into his and gripped it tightly. Whatever happens now at least they were not alone.

**"I will let you live for now."** He told the duo, **"It won't be long until you either become my servant or die. Either way killing you now would be a waste of time."**

He waited patiently as his servant translated his message. He must give the man another trinket or two, he had been very loyal so far.

Ignoring the surprised looks he received he turned away from the two on the ground he headed in the other direction, his magic searching and locating the sorcerer. He will have Chun-Yan back; it was only a matter of time.

xXxXxXx

"Hang on!" Gilbert crowed as he drove straight through the crowds of infected. They managed to almost make it out of the city when they were suddenly swarmed with the boil infested slaves.

Gilbert slammed the accelerator with relish forcing people out of the way lest they be run over. Unfortunately these people lost their minds a while ago and had no qualms about getting run over.

The group was soon fighting off the people climbing onto the jeep, despite the insane speeds and turns Gilbert was making.

Alfred had to pry a man off of Gilbert before he was choked to death while Antonio was busy smashing the hands of another boil ridden man.

Arthur was busy in the back of the jeep as he and Lovina helped Terrance throw off anyone clinging to the back.

"Shit!"

Lovina knocked into Arthur, throwing them both back into the seats as the car skidded to a stop.

Alfred looked up in dismay at the gateway that was supposed to lead out of the city. He vaguely heard Gilbert cuss as he pulled the car around sharply, turning away from the approaching crowd. Sweat beaded on his face as he tried to find another way out of the city. In his haste he missed the barricade up ahead, and with no way to turn around without meeting up with Imhotep's servants he had to slam the breaks.

The car hit a mish-mashed wall made up of furniture from the nearby market stalls as well as sand and stones. Gilbert jumped out of the car first and saw the crowd gaining on them. He turned and ran towards one of the lower sections of the barricade, hoping to climb over it. He heard the hurried footsteps behind him and was reassured that the rest of the group was keeping up with him. He jumped onto an unturned table, only to have it collapse underneath him.

He stumbled back cursing at the set back as he knocked into Terrence. He turned to face a rather bleak situation.

Imhotep walked confidently towards them as the crowd parted for him. Beni followed behind him, flashing a smug look at Alfred who barely held back the urge to throttle him.

"Any bright ideas?" Arthur hissed. He stood between Alfred and Antonio, keeping Lovina safely behind him and the Spaniard. Gilbert was in the back with Terrance, both men with their sabers out.

"**Come with me, young sorcerer, and I will spare the lives of these people."**

"Come with me-"

"I know what he's saying!" Arthur snapped at Beni.

"I don't. What did he say?" Alfred demanded, his gun not moving away from the Mummy's head.

"Oh, the usual. Come with me and your friends live." Arthur said his shaky voice at odds with his flippant words.

Imhotep stood patiently, his dark eyes boring into Arthur's.

Lovina crept further behind the group, reaching the barricade. Avoiding any sudden movements she checked the structure when her eyes fell on a small gap. The table Gilbert fell off of was in front of another, stronger table, with a wide enough gap between the legs for a man to get through.

She reached out and grabbed at the German. He gave her an impatient look as she motioned over to the gap. He gave her a quick nod and reached for Antonio. Terrence crept backwards till he was next to the gap, hiding it from view.

"No."

Alfred's voice was cold in his fury as he glared at Arthur. The hand holding the gun did not move from where it was trained on Imhotep as Alfred gripped Arthur's wrist tightly with the other. It didn't seem to bother Arthur as he glared right back at the American.

"He still has to get me to Hamunaptra to get his girlfriend back." Arthur hissed standing in front of Alfred. He was uncomfortably aware of the stare aimed at his back but ignored it as he clutched Alfred's hand briefly, squeezing tight.

"Don't worry, I have a plan."

Arthur let and backed away from Alfred's attempts to grab him again.

Taking a quick look back at the newly resurrected man Arthur leaned close to Alfred.

"On my signal, run."

He turned and walked to the Mummy, stopping right in front of him.

Imhotep gave a pleased smile as he looked down on the Brit. Wrapping a hand around his shoulder Imhotep shepherded Arthur away from barricade. Almost lazily he shouted **"Kill them."**

"No!"

Arthur struggled against the iron grip of the Mummy as Imhotep crushed him to his chest. Snarling Arthur drew up the magic he has been gathering ever since they were cornered and released it.

Imhotep roared in anger as he felt a suffocating force compress around him. He threw Arthur away from him trying to get away from the magic as it clamped down on him heavily. With a groan Imhotep managed to stop the majority of the spell.

Looking around angrily his eyes fell on the Brit, kneeling on the ground with a gun held to his head by Beni. Satisfied, he looked around to see the nuisances gone, a wide breach in the barricade letting him know how they escaped.

He thrust a hand out and grabbed Arthur by his hair. He wrenched his head up and snarled out a final warning to the infuriating sorcerer.

**"I will let this pass in respect for your skills. When we arrive at Hamunaptra, do not expect my favor or leniency to continue."** he hissed out, dropping the other man unceremoniously on the ground.

Sweeping past him Imhotep growled at his servant to make accommodations to reach Hamunaptra.

Beni scuttled off, giving Arthur a curious look as he went. Arthur shakily got up, dusting off his pants and shirt gingerly. He let out a long, slow sigh; exhausted from the magic he performed. A shiver passed through him as he remembered going against Imhotep's strength. The spell he found in the Book of the Dead was supposed to permanently bind a beings power, but Imhotep was strong enough that the spell only had a temporary hold. At best his power would be bound for another day. Arthur looked around in dismay at the bodies strewn around the streets. Without his magic Imhotep's hold on the Egyptians was lost, making them collapse where they stood. Many of the victims of the boils would be cured, he knew. He could see some of the boils collapse back into smooth skin from where he stood. Arthur also knew that for some individuals the curse pushed the disease so far that it would kill the host, and even with the curse-derived disease gone the damage to the bodies was too grave to be healed.

He did not know how long he stayed there, u was jerked out of his musings when he was grabbed roughly by the shoulder.

"Come on." Beni mumbled as he dragged Arthur up. He pushed him along to a nearby home, walking inside as if he owned the place. Arthur gagged as he took in the scene in the living area.

Imhotep had clearly made himself comfortable after clearing the house of the former residents. Arthur stared in horror as the glassy eyes of a small child gaze back at him. A little boy, about four years old was lying limply with a slit stomach and a stab wound just below his heart. A woman, presumably the child's mother was holding onto him lovingly. Arthur could not see what was wrong with her until she fell over, revealing long whiplashes tearing her clothes and much of her back away.

Arthur was pushed past the gruesome scene to the kitchen. Stumbling in he caught himself on the counter feeling his stomach rebel.

"You will cook." Beni stated from the doorway of the kitchen. At Arthur's uncomprehending stare Beni elaborated. "Prince Imhotep desires sustenance. You will provide it."

Arthur's nausea increased as he looked at the uncaring expression on Beni's face. How could he? That, that monster just tortured and killed a family and now he want to have a meal!?

"If you do not comply Prince Imhotep wished to tell you that he will be displeased and will rid of his displeasure using another family-and this time it will be in front of you."

The Hungarian left after relaying the message, leaving Arthur reeling in shock and fear.

A crash outside made him jump and come to his senses.

_'Food, huh? I'll give you food.'_ Arthur thought darkly as he gathered the ingredients from the small kitchen. _'I'll give you the best food you ever ate!'_

xXxXxXxXx

"Goddammit!" Lovina cursed as she limped over to the rest of the group. After they managed to escape the city they realized that Arthur wasn't with them. Alfred wanted to go back and save him, it took both Antonio and Gilbert to keep him from going back and see reason.

Lovina continued cursing underneath her breath as she nursed her ankle. She managed to get it caught in a hole, but no damage was done apart from a few bruises. She looked up at the rest of the group, taking in their tired and haggard forms. She let out a gusty sigh knowing that she looked the same. Alfred was pacing around angrily while they waited for Antonio to call Feliciano and the other potato. Lovina walked closer to the Spainard, waiting for news about her little brother. She frowned when Antonio shook his head at her. He couldn't make contact.

"Well what now?" Lovina voiced what all of them were afraid to say.

"What do you mean? We're going to Hamunaptra now." Alfred cut in, his arms clenched at his sides, cutting an imposing figure in the darkness.

"That would be a great plan,amigo," Antonio said tersely, "but we don't even have a way to get there, much less before the Creature."

The group stood staring at one another helplessly. The situation wasn't terrible, and Lovina didn't see how it could get any better.

A low rumbling buzzed in Lovina's ear. Curious, she walked forward, only given a quick look by Antonio. She made out lights in the distance, lights that were quickly getting brighter as the vehicle sped to their location.

"Oi! Get your asses over here!" Lovina called back. The car was close enough for her to make out the stupidly smiling face of the driver.

The men walked over curiously as the car slowed down and came to a stop in front of Lovina.

Feliciano waved cheerily from the driver's seat as Ludwig tried to keep his dinner down.

"Sorella! Big Brother Antonio! We're here to help!"

* * *

**A/N: Whoo, its been a while since I updated, huh? Sorry, this is a bit shorter than the last chapters but at least I updated?  
**

**Anyways, read and review please**

**~Kosaji**


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